Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FIGURES OF SPEECH
by
EDWIN GEROW
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
1971
MOUTON
THE HAGUE' PARIS
upameyopama.
The translations of the Sanskrit examples are intended to bring out the figure and are
not necessarily complete.
The glossary is organized by figures (terms named as such), in Sanskrit alphabetical
order. All subfigures are treated in alphabetical order under the main figure to which
they pertain. The main figures are set off in the text by centered heading<i:.
The Sanskrit alphabd, in the order traditionally adopted for dictionaries and
glossaries, is:
aaiiufirfleoaiau
\11]1
k kh g gh fi
jh fi
c
ch j
lh 4 4h 1;1
I
t
th d dh n
p ph b bh m
y
r
1 v S ~ s h
,n
atadglU}a
atadgul}a, 'not having that thing's attribute': (1) a figure iIi which two
things or states remain distinguishable in spite of the likelihood or
the appropriateness of the one's dominant quality imposing itself
upon the other. (2) M 205. (3) dhavalo'si jahavi sundara tahavi tue
majjha rafijiar[! hiaam / raahharie vi hiae suaha IJihitto IJa ratto'si
(Mammata: "Though you are pale, lover, my heart is made bright
by you; though you have entered my heart full of passion [redness],
you are not enamored [red]"). (4) "Cold-blooded, though with red
your blood be graced" (Leigh Hunt). (5) This is an expected tadguIJa
which fails to take place. It differs from nantitva atiSayokti in that
there one thing is said to be twofold, while here two things are said
to be twofold; only our expectation of unity is multiplied, not the
thing itself.
Very few figures involve in their definition an element of expectation, though most in some way exploit it.
atisaya
atisaya, 'excess': (1) one of the four general categories into which
arthtilar[!kara are grouped. (2) R 7.9, 9.1 (5) See sle~a; cf vastava,
aupamya.
atisayllkti
atisayllkti, 'expression involving an exaggeration': (1) the exaggeration
of a quality or attribute in a characteristic way, so as to suggest
pre-eminence in its subject; hyperbole. (2) B 2.81-85, D 2.214-20,
V 4.3.10, U 2.11, AP 344.26, M 153. (3) mallikamalabhariIJya1;l
sarvaiigiIJardracandana1;l / k~aumavatyo na lak~yante jyotsnayam
abhisiirikii1;l (DaT).<Jin; the whiteness of the girls' dresses is exaggerated
98
99
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
kuvalaye tani kanakalatikayam / sa ca sukumiirasubhagety utpataparampara keyam (Mammala: "A lotus grows where no water is;
on this lotus are two buds; and the lotus with its buds grows on a
golden vine: Who can she be, this concatenation of wonders? Call
her fortunate and lovely"). (4) "She seemed to belong rightly to a
jS
100
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
101
cannot decide this doubt"). (4) "They have yarns ... of the runt so
teeny-weeny it takes two men and a boy to see him" (Carl Sandburg).
(5) Thisin theinverse ofexaggeration properlyspeaking, but as it representsjustas great a deviation from the norma~ Dal).<;lin systematically
includes it here. Cf tidhikya. The point of the example is the smallness of the waist, not the doubt, which is only a psychologically appropriate adjunct; hence, this figure differs from salflsaya alalflkiira.
saqtbhavasa'!1bhava, 'possible, impossible': (1) two types of hyperbole.
(2) AP 344.26. (3) (4) No examples. (5) Another one of the mysteries
of the Agni PurtiIJa.
saqtbhiivyamiinartha,'whose meaning is imagined': (1) same as utptidya
upamii. (2) B 2.81 (83), V 4.3.10, U 2.12, M 153. (5) This figure is
also called kalpana by Mammata. Vamana and Bhamaha give it no
name, but their two examples fit clearly into this category and
adhyavasiina. The figure is recognized by six writers: The present
four consider it a kind of hyperbole, but Dal,lqin aud Rudrala
discuss it under simile. Inasmuch as we have supposition of the
transferability of a quality from one subject to another, there is a certain exaggeration attendant upon such an irregularly proposed quality.
However, the end in all cases cited is comparison, and hyperbole
is only a means to that end. Though classifications are by no means
systematic, the end does generally serve as the genus. An example
of a transfer of property which does not serve the end of comparison
would be: "To us the hills shall lend / Their firmness and their
calm" (Henry Timrod). Bliamaha's example comes closest, but it
still seems to be a simile: "aptilfl yadi tvak chithllti cyutti sytitphmJintim
iva / tadii suklalflsuktini syur aiige$v ambhasi yo$ittim" (2.83; the "skin"
[i.e., foam] shed by the waters is transferred to the Women as clothes:
'If the loose skin of the waters should fall away, like the skin of
snakes, then it would serve as white cloth for coveriug the bodies of
the WOmen in the river').
102
103
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
adbika
repeated, and not verses or verse parts. As stated sub voce, the
critical case is that of lata anuprasa. While the concept anuprasa
itself is subject to little dispute, various writers distiuguish different
kiuds which are obviously designed to produce different effects on
the ear: one melodious, one effeminate, one vigorous, and so on.
For this reason, the subject of alliteration is closely tied to the discussiou of the different styles (rlli, gUQa), and various writers
(DaJ;lqin, Rudrala) attempt to specify the stylistic limits of the
different alliterations. Mammata attempts to equate style and
alliteration (see vrtti). Anandavardhana, of course, wants to view
the questions of style and alliteration as attempts, however partial,
by earlier writers to come to grips with the problem of mood (rasa)
and the subordination of all discrete elements in the composition to
it. Despite these extrinsic differences of opinion, the importance of
alliteration in poetry was never questioned, provided that its use
corresponded to the effect desired.
upaniigarika (perhaps a Prakrit dialect): (1) a type of alliteration in
which figure prominently clusters of identical stops (kk, tt) and clusters of stops with homorganic nasal preceding (uk, nt). (2) U 1.5,
M 108. (3) san4rllravindavrndotthamakarandllmbubindubhil; / syandibhil; sundarasyandul]'l nanditendindira kvacit (Udbhata: "Somewhere a bumblebee is delighted by the flowing drops ofliquid honey
from thick clusters of white lotuses"). (5) Upanagarika resembles
madhura anuprasa of the Agni PuraQa and Rudrata. The term may
mean "cultured". Cf. gramya, to which it is opposed.
komala, 'soft': (1) same as gramya anuprasa. (2) MilO.
griimya, 'common': (1) a type of alliteration characterized by the absence
of clusters and the predominance of liquids and nasals. (2) B 2.6,
U 1.6, M 110. (3) kelilollllimalanal]'l kalail; kolahalail; kvacit /
kurvati kananarughasrznupuraravabhramam (Udbhata: "Sometimes
accompanied by the soft humming of the bee swarms, playfully
restless, she simulates the maddening sound of the anklets of Sri
wandering in the forest"). (5) Bhamaha apparently considers this
type defective or vulgar, but the other two authors allow it as one
of the five legitimate types. It is probably to be opposed to upanagarika, which may mean 'cultured or citified', as opposed to 'rustic,
vil/ageois'. Compare Bhiimaha's example "kil]'l tayll cintayll kante
nitanta" with that offered under upaniigarika (which term Bhiimaha
does not use). Mammata calls this figure komala.
cheka, 'clever': (1) a type of alliteration characterized by metathetic
adhika (1), 'superabundant': (1) a figure wherein two contraries are said
to proceed from the same cause. (2) R 9.26 (27). (3) muficati viM
payodo jvalantam analal]'l ca yat tad iiScaryam / udapadyata nzranidher
vi~am amrtarrz ceti tac citram (Rudrata; a reference to the creation
myth wherein the primeval ocean gave forth both deadly poison
and the Gods' sustinence: "It is amazing that the clouds release both
blazing fire and water; that both poison and nectar emerge from
the watery sea"). (4) "The long, winding intricate sentences, with
their vast burden of subtle and complicated qualifications, befogged
the mind like clouds, and like clouds, too, dropped thunderbolts"
(Lytton Strachey).
adhika (II): (1) a figure wherein a thing is said to exceed or surpass in
size or grandeur its own basis or c9ntainer. (2) R 9.28 (29), M 195.
(3) aho viSalal]'l bhupala bhuvanatrit~yqdaram / mati matum asakyo'pi
yasorasir yad atra te (Mammata; tlie king's glory cannot be contained even by the three worlds; the example is also found in DaJ;lqin
2.219 for the term adhikya atisayokti, q. v.). (4) " ... warned me my
watch was relieved. It could not have lasted more than two hours:
many a week has seemed shorter" (Charlotte Bronte; two hours
exceed in duration the thing of which two hours is a part). (5)
Mammala in his definition allows for the possibility that the container exceeds the term predicated upon it, but both his examples show
only the reverse (the present case).
anupriisa
anupriisa, 'throwing.<l;fter': (1) alliteration. (2) B 2.5-8, D 1.52-59,
V 4.1.8-10, U 1.3-10, AP 343.1-11, R 2.18-32, M 104-16. (3) kil]'l
taya cintaya kante nitanteti (Bhiimaha: "0 lovely, why are you
afflicted with doubts?"). (5) Anuprasa is treated by all the writers
except Bharata, but DaJ;lqin considers it an aspect of madhura gUQa
rather than a figure. The varieties of alliteration considered are (a)
repetition of phonetic features (DaJ;lqin: see varQllvrtti, note); (b)
repetition of phouemes or phoneme clusters (paru~a, upanagarika,
gramya, madhura, lalita, praUl;lha, bhadra); (c) variation of vowels
within similar consonant strings and vice versa (cheka), and (d)
repetition of words or morphemes (lata). Alliteration is carefully
distinguished from yamaka (cadence), in that the occurrence of the
alliterated elements is not predetermined in verse or verse part. It is,
in other words, the p,]1onemes or phonetic features that are being
Ie
104
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
105
(Rudrata: "Tell me, gentle lady with face lovely as the moon steeped
in joy, if indeed you are going, sweetly murmuring of love, to the
home of your lover, then why does your passing here, feet dripping
with lac, with necklaces jangling and anklets sounding incessantly
sweet, work in my soul this needless desire?"). (5) This figure
resembles upanligarika anuprlisa in its clusters with homorganic
nasal. Rudrata gives rules for the proper use of this alliteration,
saying that the quality of "loveliness" will be lost if the "I" is used
more than two or three times and that the clusters of stops should
not exceed five. The scope of titis rule is not specified, but it is
probably the sloka. Rudrata lays stress on the importance of
observing the proprieties in all five types of alliteration (2.32).
lalita, 'gay': (I) a type of alliteration characterized by the unclustered
letters "dh", "gh", "gh", "r", "8", and "1" in light syllables. (2)
AP 343.4-5, R 2.29-30. (3) malayi1nilalalanolialamadakalakalakalJIhakalakalalallimah madhuramadhuvidhuramadhupo madhur ayam
adhunli dhinoti dharlim (Rudrata: "The spring now afIlicts the earth;
bees are helpless from drinking sweet honey; the southern wind is
amorous with the arguments of kokila birds, muted with drink").
(5) As the example shows, the criteria are permissive rather than
obligatory: in the first half-sloka, the "I" is principally employed;
in the second, the "dh", which is only to say that the letters given
may be employed in a context of unclustered, short syllables. The
figure resembles grlimya.
lata (latiya) (a region): (I) the repetition wititin the same verse of a
word or words having the same meaning but, through the context,
106
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
107
cerebrals, the
'T'
the moon, moon-face, is risen"). (4) "It was the same rounded,
pouting, childish prettiness, but with all love and belief in love
departed from it-the sadder for its beauty, like that wondrous
Medusa face, with the passionate, passionless lips" (George Eliot).
(5) Udbha!a and Mamma!a give an elaborate classification of this
figure according to whether the word repeated follows immediately
(as here) or is placed at the beginning or the end of the half-verse;
similarly, tbey distinguish words. free (having a case termination)
from words bound (in compouftd). Mamma!a and Vamana (who
calls the figure piiddnupriisa) allow the repetition of the entire
half-sloka, provided that the word~"!llboth halves are the same
as: "yasya na savidhe dayitd davadahanas tuhinadidhitis tasya /
yasya ca savidhe dayitii davadahanas tuhinadidhitis tasya" (Mammala;
in the first half, dava- is attributive to tuhina-, in the second half,
just the reverse; "For him whose beloved is absent, the cool-rayed
moon is burning fire; for him whose beloved is present, the burning
fire [of the sun] is cool-rayed"). In this case, the alliteration has
become for all intents and purposes a yamaka, except that the individual words are taken as the same words in both utterances, instead
of splitting the utterances differently. The figure ldldnupriisa thus
occupies the mid-position between alliteration and cadence, differing
from the former in its concern with words rather than phonemes,
and from the latter'in its coucern with meaning rather than phonemic
sequence. Cf iivrtti.
varl)linupriisa, 'letter-alliteration': (1) same as varQdvrtti. (2) V 4.1.9.
varl)livrtti, 'letter-repetition': (I) alliteration. (2) D 1.55, V 4.1.9. (3)
candre saranniStJtta/'flse kundastavakavibhrame I indraniianibha/'fl
lak~ma sa/'fldadhiity ani/ah [sic]sriyam (Dal)<Jin; we prefer the alinah
but very little else can be expected of Mammala, who represents the
worst of the syncretistic tendency. Cf Abhinavagupta on the Dhvan-
yaloka, p. 6.
108
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
109
anumiina
anumiina, 'inference': (I) a figure in which an inference is explicitly formulated. (2) R 7.56-63, M 182. (3) savajiiam agami$yan niinalfl patito'si
padayos tasyal;z / katham anyathti lalate yavakarasatilakapaiiktlr
iyam? (Rudrata; reference is to the painted toenails of the beloved:
"You must have fallen at her feet, having to return so contemptibly:
how else would that row of red lac spots appear on your brow?").
(4) "Scylla is toothlesse; yet when she was young, / She had both
tooth enough, and too much tongue: / What should I now of toothlesse Scylla say? / But that her tongue hath worne her teeth away"
(Anon.). (5) The cause (sadhaka) may be inferred from the effect
(sadhya), or vice versa; it is ~~sential that the term inferred be
parok$a-in some way not obvious. In both our examples, the cause
is inferred. The following lines from Somerset Maugham show
inference of the effect: "As I waJk~.(J. a.Io~g the winding road ...
I mused upon what I should say. Do they not tell us that style is
the art of omission? If that is so, I should certainly write a very
pretty piece". In such instances, the effect is usually placed in future
time.
This figure differs from hetu alalflkara as the active differs from
the passive: in the latter figure, a relation of cause-effect is described;
in tbe former, it is used to secure intelligence of one or the other term
so related. It is curious that Mammata should reject hetu while
accepting anumana, as the ground of exclusion he advances for the
one should apply a fortiori to the other: no figurative usage need
be present. Ru(J.rata distinguishes several types which are the
equivalents of Ddlj.<;lin's three kinds of hetu: diirakarya, sahaja, and
karyanantaraja. Rudrata's own version of hetu has no subtypes.
anyonya
anyonya, 'reciprocal': (I) a figure wherein two things are said to be
reciprocally cause and effect. (2) R 7.91 (92), M 187. (3) riipalfl
yauvanalak$mya yauvanam api riipasalflpadas tasya!:z / anyonyam
alalflkaraQalfl vibhati saradindusundaryal;z (Rudrata: "Her beauty is
ornamented by her youth; her youth is heightened by her beauty;
she IS as lovely as the autumn moon"). (4) "The Devil, having
nothing else to do, / Went off to tempt My Lady Poltagrue. / My
Lady, tempted by a private whim, / To his extreme annoyance,
tempted him" (Hilaire Belloc). (5) The reciprocity of cause and
effect is the same as being mutually conditioned.
apahnuti
apabnuti (I), 'denial': (I) a figure in which the object of comparison is
aflirmed in place of the subject of comparison. (2) B 3.20 (21),
V 4.3.5. (3) neyalfl virauti bhriigalf madena mukhara muhul;z / ayam
akNyamaQasya kandarpadhanu~o dhvanil;z (Bhamaha: "It is not a
swarm of bees, humming incessantly of honey; it is the sound of
the Love-hunter's bow being drawn"). (4) "And there is not a
whisper on the air / Of any living voice but one so far / That I can
hear it only as a bar / Of lost, imperial music, played when fair /
And angel fingers wove, and unaware, / Dead leaves to garlands
where no roses are" (E. A. Robinson; that is not a whisper, that is
music). (5) Cf tattvapahava riipaka.
apabnuti (II): (I) a figure in which an essential property of the subject is
denied and portrayed otherwise; irony of qualification. (2) D 2.304309, U 5.3, AP 345.18, M i46. (3) na paiice~u!:z smaras tasya sahasralfl
patriQam (DaI).<;lin: "The God of Love is not possessed of five arrows;
indeed he has a thousand"). (4) "Because these wings are no longer
wings to fly / But merely vans to beat the air" (T. S. Eliot). (5)
anyokti
anyokti, 'saying something else': (I) a figure in which the real subject
of comparison is suggested by explicit description of the object,
where, nevertheless, the two compared terms have no common
property, bnt only a mode action in common. (2) R 8.74 (75).
(3) muktva salilahalflsalfl vikasitakamalojjvalalfl saral;z sarasam /
bakalulitajalalfl palvalam abhila$asi sakhe na halflso'si (Rudrata:
"Abandoning tbis pleasant lake with its swans and lotus blooms,
you long for the forest pool rough from the flight of cranes; yet,
friend, you are no swan"). (4)" ... the men and women who in a
hundred different ways were laboring, as William Allen White said,
110
11l
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
1
I
113
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
describes the cause of his early return from a journey: "Those who
have gone to another country, why should they not return? Beloved,
you must grieve for me no longer; you have grown so thin! Even
while I speak to you in tears, you look at me with eyes downcast
with shame aud full of pale tears, while your hysterical laughter
surely portends approaching death!"). (4) "With how sad steps,
o Moon! thou climb'st the skies! / How silently, and with how wan
a face! / What! may it be, that even in heavenly place / That busy
archer his sharp arrows tries?" (Sir Philip Sydney; the effect of
being in love is described through its cause). (5) Cf nimitta.
tulya, 'equal': (1) a type of aprastutaprasalJlsii in which the relation between tbe implicit and explicit subjects is one of similitude, real or
apparent. (2) M 152. (5) If the similitude is real, we have siidrsyamiltra; if only punned, samiis{jkti; if the implicit subject itself is
punned, sle$a. See these terms for examples.
For the earlier writers, intimation seems only to have been used
where a relation of similitude could be seen; it is often described in
the same terms as upamii ('simile'), the implicit term being the subject
of comparison (upameya). But Mammala broadens the figure to
include other relations: that of cause-effect, and general-specific.
See aprastutaprasalJlSii.
nimitta, 'cause': (1) a type of aprastutaprasalJlsii in which the real subject
is a cause and is intimated through a description of its effect. (2)
M 152. (3) riijan riijasutii na pii!hayati miilJl devyo'pi tU$r.zilJl sthitiil; /
kubje bhojaya miilJl kumiira sacivair nfidyapi kilJl bhujyate / itthalJl niitha
sukas tavaribhavane mukto'dhvagail; pafijariit / citrasthiin avalokya
sunyavalabhiiv ekaikam iibhii$ate (Mammala; describing the fright
caused by the news that the king has set out against his enemies:
'''0 King, the princesses do not address me! Even the Queens
remain silent! Hey, humpback! come play with me! Prince! why
aren't you with your friends?' Thus does the parrot, who has been
freed by passersby from its cage in your enemy's palace, carryon
as he wanders about the empty halls looking at the portraits").
(4) "Help me to seek! for I lost it there; / And if that ye havefound it,
ye that be here, / And seek to convey it secretly, / Handle it soft, and
treat it tenderly, / ... It was mine heart! I pray you heartily / Help
me to seek" (Sir Thomas Wyatt; the poet is in love, which has
resulted in the loss of his heart). (5) Cf kiirya.
viSe~a, 'speciality': (1) a type of aprastutaprasalJliis in which the real
subject is particular and is intimated through mention of an ap-
112
see aprastutaprasaYflsii.
114
GLOSSARY
propriate universal. (2) M 152. (3) suhrdvadhiibti$pajalapramdrjana/"fl karoti vairapratiydtanena yal;z / sa eva piijyal;z sa pumdn sa
nftiman sujivita/"fl tasya sa bhtijana/"fl sriyal;z (Mammata; this is spoken
by a minister of the slain Naraka and urges retaliation on Kr~"a:
"The Prince who wipes away the tears of his friends by taking revenge on his enemies, he alone is honorable, he is a man and a just
man, his auspicious life is a vessel of good fortune"). (4) "But at my
back I always hear / Time's winged chariot hurrying near" (Andrew
Marvell; to his coy mistress). (5) Cf sdmdnya.
sle~a, 'double-entendre': (I) a type of tulya aprastutaprasa/"flsd in which
the real subject is intimated by puns or double meanings. (2) M
I 52C. (3) PU/"flstvtid api pravj{;aled yadi yady adho'pi yaytid yadi
pravayane na mahtin api syat / abhyuddharet tad api viivam itldrslya/"fl kenfipi dik praka(itfi puru$8.ttamena (Mammata; flattery of a
king; reference is to the forms of';:Yi~"tt: "Even if he deviates from
masculinity [from heroism], even if he descends to earth [suffers
reverses], even if he is not of great size [not powerful], nevertheless,
he upholds the earth; in this way has the expanse of this earth been
made manifest by the Great Lord [a great lord]"). (4) " ... A dripping
Pauper crawls along the way, / The only real willing out-of-doorer, /
And says, or seems to say, / 'Well, I am poor enough-but here's a
pourer!'" (Thomas Hood; the subject intimated is the rainstorm).
(5) Cf samds8kti and sadrsyamatra. Sle$a differs from avayava
sle$a in that the real subject is there explicit and the pun ancillary.
samasokti, 'concise speech': (1) a type of tulya aprastutaprasa/"flSa in which
the real subjectis intimated by puns (or double meanings) on the
descriptive qua11fications of the explicit subject. (2) M 152C. (3)
yendsy abhyuditena candra gamital;z klanti/"fl ravau tatra te / yujyeta
pratikartum eva na punas tasyalvapadagrahal;z / k$fvenaitad anu${hita/"fl
yadi tatal;z ki/"fl lajjase n8 manag / asty eva/"fl jaadhtimata tu bhavato
yad vyomni visphurjase (Mammata; this is spoken to a poor man who
has demeaned himself by asking alms. The sun and moon (explicit subjects) are not punned upon, but the descriptive qualifications are as piida, 'ray' and 'foot', k$il)a, 'new moon' and 'prop~
ertyless', etc. Note that the last pun requires substitutability of
the phonemes 14/ and /11 in jaadhtimatd-jaladhtimata. "By whose
rising have you become so pale, 0 moon? You should try to outshine [emulate] him and not be eclipsed by his rays [fall at his feet];
and if you have done this through being but a thin crescent [because
of your poverty], you should be ashamed indeed! So be it! By the
GLOSSARY
115
mere fact of your shining in the sky, you are a veritable treasure of
coolness [of stupidity]"). (4) "Beneath in the Dust, the mou1dy old
Crust / of Moll Batchelor lately was shaven, / Who was skill'd in
the Arts of Pyes, Custards and Tarts, / And every Device of the
Oven. / When she'd Iiv'd long enough, she made her last Puff, /
A Puff by her Husband much prais'd; / And here she doth lie, and
makes a Dirt Pye, / In Hopes that her Crust may be rais'd" (Anon.;
an epitaph. The real subject of Moll's death and resurrection is
suggested by puns on her culinary abilities). (5) In sle$a, the real
subject itself is effected through a pun on the explicit subject, not
entirely on its qualifications. Cf also stidrsyamdtra.
sadrsyamatra, 'mere similitude': (I) a type of tulya aprastutaprasa/"flsd
in which the real subject is intimated through the force alone of its
similitude with the explicit subject. (2) M 152C. (3) tiddya vari
parital;z sarita/"fl mukhebhyal;z kin tdvad arjitam anena durarvavena /
k$arfkrta/"fl ca vaavddahane huta/"fl ca pdtalakuk$ikuhare viniveSita/"fl
ca (Mammata; the picture is that of a wealthy man wasting his
resources: "Taking all the water from the mouths ofrivers hereabouts,
making it salty and throwing it on the submarine fires and losing it
into the secret maws of hell: what indeed has this Ocean profited?").
(4) "It's but little good you'll do a-watering the last year's crop"
(George Eliot). (5) By mere similitude is meant that no puns or
double meanings operate to suggest the implicit subject. See Sle$a
and samas8kti. The relation is also between particulars, much as
if it were a dmfinta with the subject implicit. Cf viSe$a and sdmanya.
samanya, 'generality': (1) a type of aprastutaprasa/"flSa in which the real
subject is universal and is intimated through description of an
appropriate particular. (2) M 152. (3) etat tasya mukhdt kiyat
kamalinfpatre kava/"fl vdrivo yan muktamavir ity ama/"flsta sa jaal;z
srvv anyad asmtid api / aiigulyagralaghukriydpravilayiny iidfyamdne
sanail;z kutr#fya gato mamiity anudina/"fl nidrdti nfintal;z suca (Bhallata,
quoted by Mamma!a; the universal here is said to be that the
property sentiment of fools is apt to be overextended. Punctuation
would help in this example: a comma after kiyat, a period after
jaal;z, a comma after sanail;z: "How few words [of sense] come from
his mouth; he thinks a drop of dew fallen on a lotus petal to be a
pearl of high price! And listen to this: slowly lifting the dewdrop
until it melts between the tender movements of his fingers, he cries,
'Where has my pearl flown to?' and he cannot sleep for the pain in
his soull"). (4) DA / Dayadhvam: I have heard the key / Turn in the
GLOSSARY
116
door once and turn once only / We think of the key, each in his
prison / Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison" (T. S. Eliot;
the explanation is given by Eliot himself in his notes, quoting
F. H. Bradley: "My external seusations are no less private to myself
than are my thoughts or my feelings. In either case my experience
falls within my own circle, a circle closed on the outside .. ,").
(5) Cf viSe$a.
aprastutaprasaIpsii (II): (I) an elliptical simile in which the subject of
comparison is referred to by a sign or token, usually a doubleentendre based on comparable qualities common to the two things.
(2) V 4.3.4. (3) liivaI!yasindhur aparalva hi keyam atra yatriitpalani
GLOSSARY
117
118
119
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
artbilntaranyiisa
artbilntaranyiisa, 'introduction of another matter': (I) a figure in which
a proposition or remark is justified or substantiated by the adjunction of a relevant moral or rationale; apodixis. (2) B 2.71-74,
D 2.169-79, V 4.3.21, U 2.4, AP 344.24, R 8.79-84, M 165. (3)
united with those of the other, and the clearness is lost forever.
Virtuous and vicious persons can associate for a time, keeping their
characters distinct. But if the associations be continued, the virtuous,
pnre character will become soiled by the vicions. No one can
associate freely with the wicked without becoming in some measure
like them" (Robert Blackwell). (5) Cf yuktiitman and yuktiiyukta.
yuktiitman, 'essentially correct': (I) a type of arthiintaranyasa in which
the situation referred to in proposition and substantiation is approved by the speaker. (2) D 2.170 (177). (3) ayarrt mama dahaty
120
121
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
to burn! For one of the sun's retinue will not be mild when the
friends of the moon are harsh!"). (4) "Sweet is the rose, but grows
upon a brere; / Sweet is the juniper, but sharp his bough: / ... So
every sweet with sour is temper'd still, / That maketh it be coveted
the more: / For easy things, that may be got at will, / Most sorts of
men do set but little store" (Edmund Spenser). (5) The term "reversal"
is probably to be taken as reversal of yuktayukta, where an otherwise
appropriate situation is deemed in some respect inappropriate. Here
the inconsistency is accepted.
vlparyaya (II): (I) a type of arthantaranyiisa in which the substantiation,
having the form of a general remark, follows the proposition, which
is particular in reference. (2)
2.4. (3) siva apasyac catika${iini
tapyamiinii'1' tapii'1'sy umiim /asa'1'bhiivyapatfcchiinii'1' kanyiinii'1'
kii parii gatib (Udbhata; Uma had set her mind on having none but
Siva: "[Siva] watched Uma practi'1'il\gausterities of unbelievable
austerity; what other recourse have ,!;iriS'who desire a perfect husband?"). (4) "On the College of Wadham at Oxford being insured
from Fire, after a Member had been suspected of an unnatural
Crime: Well did the amorous sons .0fWadham / Their house secure
from future flame; / They knew their crime, the crime of Sodom, /
And judg'd their punishment the same" (Anon.). (5) Udbhata
is the first writer to classify apodixis in this way, but he perversely
applies the term viparyaya to that type which the earlier writers
consider perfectly normal: a particular remark justified by a general
remark, as: "Keep in the heart the journal nature keeps; I Mark
down the limp nasturtium leafwith frost" (Conrad Aiken). Udbhata's
innovation is, of course, that he allows the general remark to precede,
as in the example offered under yuktatman. Rudrata and Mammata
both allow for this same distinction, but do not give it a name.
virodhavat, 'contradictory': (I) a type of arthantaranyiisa in which a
seeming paradox is justified. (2) D 2.170 (175). (3) jagad iinandayaty
e~a malino'pi niSiikarab / anugrhlJiiti hi pariin sado~o'pi dvijiiSvarab
(Dal)<;lin: "The orb of the night, though covered with blemishes,
delights the whole world; but then, a Brahmin, even if he have
faults, confers favors upon others"). (4) "Before you despise Adam
as deficient in penetration, pray ask yonrself ... if you ever could,
without hard head-breaking demonstration, believe evil of the one
supremely pretty woman who has bewitched you. No: people
who love downy peaches are apt not to think of the stone, and
sometimes jar their teeth terribly against it" (George Eliot). (5)
122
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
friend: "The wind from the southern mountain arouses joy amongst
men' indeed one born in the South [accomplished in piety] is everybod;'S friend"). (4) "So round his melancholy neck, / A rope he
did entwine, / ... And there he hung, till he was dead / As any nail
in town- / For though distress had cut him up, / It could not cut
him down!" (Thomas Hood).
siidharmya, 'similitude': (J) a type of arthiintaranyiisa in which the verbs
of both proposition and substantiation are parallel in sense, that
is not antithetical. (2) M 165. (3) (4) See arthiintaranyiisa. (5)
This subcategory is arthiintaranyiisa itself-a category invented by
Mammala to balance vaidharmya, q.v.
123
sweet wind did gently kiss the trees, / And they did make no noise,
-in such a night / Troilus methinks mounted the Troyan walls, /
And sigh'd his soul toward the Grecian tents, / Where Cressid lay
that night" (Shakespeare). (5) Rudrata gives two examples, the
first expressing nobility (holiness), the second love; the occasion for
Shakespeare's remark is clearly amorous. In this and several other
figures, Rudrata delineates what appear to be types of dhvani, or
suggestion. On the other hand, the figures lesa, sak$ma, paryiiya,
and avasara can be related to the earlier figure paryiiyokta, not
present in Rudrata's classification and never before subdivided.
Rudrata, probably a Kasmlri and a contemporary of Anandavardhana, may indeed have been familiar with the dhvani theory and
may have attempted to incorporate it into a standard alalflkiira
treatise. The Agni Puriiva also propounds a curious view of dhvani
(see abhivyakti).
avayava
avayava, 'member': (J) an arthaSle$a in which the second meaning,
suggested through puns on certai~,~spects or qualifications of the
primary subject, augments or ameliorates the force of the description.
(2) R 10.18. (3) bhujayugale balabhadral; sakalajagallafighane tatM
balijit / akraro hrdaye'sau riijiibhad arjuno yasasi (Rudrata; the puns
are balabhadral;, balijit, and arjunaq which apply to the king as
descriptive adjectives but are also the names of great heroes:
"In his two arms fortunate of strength [Balabhadra], in overwhehning the whole world a conqueror of his enemies [Balijit], straightforward [Akriira] in his heart and glorious [Arjuna] in his fame, was
this King"). (4) "The scene in water colours thus I paint" (Thomas
Hood; the rainy day is described in "watery" words). (5) I think
the point is not that the pun is between an adjective and a proper
name, since several other types involve this same feature (aviSe$a,
perhaps tattva), and since the name of the type would itself then be
inexplicable. It is to be contrasted with aviSe$a, where the pun is
on the primary subject, not on any qualifications of it.
avis~a
avise~a,
'lacking qualifications': (J) an arthasle$a in which the doubleentendre is expressed in and through the noun or subject of the
utterance, instead of through qualifications thereof. (2) R 10.3. (3)
saradindusundararucalfl sukumiiriilfl surabhiparimaliim aniSam /
nidadhiiti niilpapuvyal; kavthe navamaUkiilfl kilntiim (Rudrata;
navamaUkii is both 'jasmine' and a girl's name: "No one who does
not deserve it puts jasmine around his neck: she who has the beauty
of the autumn moon is sweet and always fragrantly perfumed").
(4) "Synthesis, smoking in a corner / Groans, pulls himself together"
(Robert Graves). (5) The point here is that the pun is not carried
by the adjectival qualifications (the first half Sloka or the phrase
"pulls himself together") as it is in the canonic sle$a (cf. aviruddhakriyii, viruddhakarman). Indeed, the qualifications apply equally
to either sense, but those senses are expressed by a single word
here (the noun), which, syntactically primordinate, carries the
double-entendre.
avasara
avasara, 'occasion': (J) a figure in which a sentiment is expressed through
a description of a particular fact strongly suggestive of it. (2)
R 7.103 (104). (3) tad idam aravyalfl tasmin dasarathavacaniinupiilanavyasani/ nivasan biihusahiiyascakiira rak$al;k$ayalfl riimal; (Rudrata;
through an association with Rama, the idea is intimated that this
is a holy place: "In this forest Rama lived, faithful to the commands of his father, and with his bare hands, he slew all the demons").
(4) "The moon shines bright :-in such a night as this, / When the
asaip.gati
asaip.gati, 'non-concomitance': (I) same as darakiirya hetu. (2) R 9.48
(49), M 191.
asaip.bhava
aSaip.hhava, 'impossibility': (I) an arthasle$a in which an apparently
, I
124
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
125
ahetu
ahem, 'absence of cause': (I) same as viSe$okti II. (2) R 9.54 (55).
iik~epa
iik~epa,
127
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
(4) "No, no, for my Virginity, I When I lose that, says Rose, I'll
dye: I Behind the Elmes, last Night, cry'd Dick, I Rose, were you
not extremely Sick?" (Matthew Prior). (5) Dal)C}in uses the term
vrtta ('occurred'). Compare vak$yamiina and vartamiina, where the
facts are about to occur or are occurring.
prasiddha, 'established', 'well known': (1) a type of iik$epa in which the
question takes the form of an objection to a conventional or wellknown fact. (2) R 8.89 (90). (3) janayati safTltiipam asau candraka-
126
fanciful alternative: "Why do you fix a lotus at your ear, my soft- '
voiced one? Do you think your sidelong glance unable to attract
me?"). (4) "In a church which is furnish'd with mullion and gable,
I With altar and reredos, with gargoyle and groin, I The penitent's
dresses are sealskin and sable, / The odour of sauctity's eau-deCologne. / But only could Lucifer, flying from Hades, I Gaze down
on this crowd with its panniers and paints. / He would say, as he
looked at the lords and the ladies, I 'Oh, where is All Sinners', if
this is All Saints' ?'" (Edmund Yates; blame is suggested through a
fanciful alternative). (5) Only Dal).c;lin offers this middle term between ukta, 'spoken' and vak$yamiina, 'about to be spoken'. Though
all three types of objection can be reduced to what appears to be
this mere outward distinction of time, it is interesting to note the
changes of mode which parallel and are probably functions of that
distinction. An objection referring to past time (ukta) is inevitably
ironical and expresses amazement or suspicion; that referring to
future time (vak$yamana) tends to be hortatory or interdictive and
need not be founded upon a hyperbole. Similarly, the iik$epa of
present time (vartamiina), objecting to something that is in the process
of completion but not yet accomplished, has in mind au alternative
end, preferable or indifferent.
Doubtless it was a consideration like this which prompted Rudrata
to recast the definition of iik$epa in modal terms: the state objected
to is either consistent with convention or impossible to contemplate
(prasiddha, viruddha). Complete parallelism is, however, not to be
looked for.
viruddba, 'contradicted': (1) a type of ak$epa in which the objection refers
to an impossible situation-one not conventionally realizable.
(2) R 8.89 (91). (3) lava gal;layiimi gUl;lan aham alam athavtisa-
"I'm telling you the truth. You'll not be able to see me, lover,
with eyes red from the lac of others' lips !"). (4)" 'You like words
like damn and hell now, don't you?' I said I reckoned so. 'Well,
I don't,' said Uncle Jack, 'not unless there's extreme provocation
connected with 'em ..::. Scout, you'll get in trouble if you go around
128
129
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
could cry at having to tell Sam Bannett she could not think of him,
and then treat another lover as she treated the Virginian? I cannot
tell you, having never (as I said before) been a woman myself"
(Owen Wister). (5) Compare prasiddha, where the situation is
conventional though in fact just as impossible. Here the impossibility
is carried by the fact itself (counting an infinitude, understanding a
woman). Of course, poetic license must be allowed in determining
just what facts are admitted.
vrtta, 'occurred': (l) same as ukta lik$epa. (2) D 2.122 (121).
padiivrtti, 'repetition of the word': (1) a figure in which the same word is
repeated each time in a different sense. (2) D 2.116 (118). (3)
utkalJ{hayati meghdnli'r/ mlilli vrnda'r/ kallipinlim / yilnii'r/ ciJtka/J{hayaty eva mlinasa'r/ makaradhvajah (DalJqin; the verb is taken first
in its literal sense, 'raises the neck', i.e., causes to harken, and then
iivrtti
iiv{tti, 'repetition': (1) the repetiti0l} pf a word or an idea in the same or a
closely related phrase. (2) 0"2.116, AP 343.18-20. (5) DalJqin
distinguishes three types of repetition: the sense but not the word
may be repeated (arthdvrtti), the "io~dbut not the sense (padavrtti),
or both the word and the sense (ubJii:lydvrtti). See s.v. for examples.
In the Agni Purli/Ja, livrtti is discussed in the same terms as lli{anuprlisaofUdbhata,astowhetherthewords are bound or free (paratantra or svatantra) and as a part of anuprlisa (along with yamaka).
arthiivrtti, 'repetition of the sense': (1) a figure in which the same idea is
repeated through different words; paraphrase. (2) D 2.116 (117).
(3) vikasanti kadambiini sphu{anti ku{ajadrumlih / unmflanti ca
kandalyo dalanti kakubhlini ca (DalJqin; all the verbs mean 'bloom':
"The cadamba tree is coming out, the kutaja is flowering, the kandal!
bush is blooming, the kakubh is breakiug out"). (4) "If a man
wished to abstract himself from the world-to remove himself from
within the reach of temptation-to place himself beyond the possibility of any inducement to look out of the window-we should
recommend him by all means go to Lant Street" (Charles Dickens).
(5) In this type of repetition, the important thing is that the words
themselves be different. Cf ubhaytivrtti.
ubhayiivrtti, 'repetition of both' (sc. the word and sense): (1) a figure in
which the same word is repeated in the same sense. (2) D 2.116
(119). (3) jitvli viSva'r/ bhavlin atra viharaty avarodhanaih / viharaty
apsarobhis te ripuvargo diva'r/ gatah (DalJqin: "Overrunning this
world, my Lord sports with the harem; his enemies, gone to heaven,
sport with the Nymphs"). (4) "So loveliness reigned and stillness,
and together made the shape of loveliness itself, a form from which
life had parted" (Virginia Woolf). (5) Cf artha- and padtivrtti,
where one or the other, but not both is repeated.
iisi~
iisi~,
ukti
ukti, 'speech': (1) an arthasle$a in which the second meaning is vulgar or
risque. (2) R 10.14. (3) kallivatah sa'r/bhrtamalJ4alasya yayli
hasantytilva hrttisu lak$mih / nrlJlim apliiigena krtas ca klimas tasylih
karasthii nanu nlilikasrih (Rudrata; apparently this is an encomium
of a proper young lady, but a second sense may be obtained roughly
as follows: "The good fortune of those she cozzens is in the pahn of
her hand-she who laughingly accepts payment from her wellensconced paramour and who will make love at the flick of an eyebrow"; "She holds the beauty of the lotus [the fortune of fools] in
her hand and by her side-long glance [with playful glance] is passion
[love] inspired [made] in [with] men; she laughing stole the beauty
[money] of the moon [of her client] full orbed [in the midst of his
friends]"). (4) "Let us roll all our strength and all / Our sweetness
up into one ball, / And tear our pleasures with rough strife / Through
T
130
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
the iron gates of life" (Andrew Marvell). (5) As in the other kinds
of arthasle$a which Rudrata describes, the second meaning shonld
further in some relevant way the sense of the first or evident meaning.
Mere punning for the sake of punning (word play) is strictly relegated
to the realm of sabdasle$a. So here the vulgar undertone does not
serve the end of lewdness, but rather expands and directs the apparently innocent intent of the overtone, which is to say that both
examples suggest that innocence is but a veil.
131
utprek~ii
ntprek~ii,
uttara
uttara (I), 'answer': (I) a figure in which a preceding remark is inferred
from the reply given to it. (2) R 7.113 (94), M 188. (3) bhava miinam anyatha me bhrukuti'll vidhatum mauiw'll aham asaha/ saknomi tasya puratab sakhi na khalu pariiiimukhfbhavitym (Rudrata; from this we are to
infer that the girl has been receivingJnstruction in how to simnlate
anger in the presence of her lover: "Describe anger another way,
friend. I am unable to produce a brow-bent silence! I cannot remain
with my face averted before him!"); (4) '''When you call me that,
smile!' And he looked at Trampas across the table" (Owen Wister;
the Virginian has just been called a "son of a..."). (5) See praina.
uttara (II): (I) a figure wherein is given a series of fanciful answers to
one or more questions. (2) R 8.72 (73), M 121-22. (3) ki'll marava'll
diiridryarp ko vyiidhirjfvita'll daridrasya / kab svargab sanmitra'll sukalatra'll suprabhub susutab (Rudrata: "What is death? Poverty. What is
sickness? The life of the poor. What is heaven? True friends, a
good wife, a fiW' master, devoted children"). (4) '''You are old,
Father William,'''the young man said, / 'And your hair has become
very white; / And yet you incessantly stand on your head- / Do
you think, at your age, it is right?' / 'In my youth,' Father William
replied to his son, / 'I feared it might injure the brain; / But, now
that I'm perfectly sure I have none, / Why, I do it again and again.'
/ 'You are old,' said the youth, 'as I mentioned before, / And have
grown most uncommonly fat; / Yet you turned a back-somersault
in at the door- / Pray, what is the reason of that" / 'In my youth,'
said the sage, as he shook his gray locks, / 'I kept all my limbs very
supple / By the use of this ointment-one shilling the box- / Allow
me to sell you a couple?''' (Lewis Carroll). (5) Compare this poetic
figure with the conundrum prasnottara, a series of answers to questions involving a pun..
I
I
132
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
133
135
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
from the navel of the deer"). (4) "Desolate and lone / All night long
on the lake / Where fog trails and mist creeps, / The whistle of a
boat / Calls and cries unendingly, / Like some lost child / In tears
and trouble / Hunting the harbor's breast / And the harbor's eyes"
(Carl Sandburg; here all the parts are made explicit to facilitate
comprehension: the first utprek$ii [the whistle cries] is followed by
the object on which it is based [the child], by which is constituted
the immediate simile; but that simile is extended: first subject [whistle]
to another [harbor] and first object [child] to another [breast], which
further simile [here in the form of a rilpaka] justifies the first). (5)
The point here does not concern the utprek$ii itself, but only the
mode of interpreting the ascriptLon which constitutes the utprek$ii;
that is, relating that ascription to the simile or similes which it
assumes. In this case, the immediate simile so understood is, in a
way, not adequate unto itself (conil1~re' the next type) because it
represents a subordinate and limited aspect of a more universal
simile, which situation is suggested by mention of any of its aspects.
The form is exactly parallel to the rilpaka called samastavastuvi$aya,
'referring to the whole thing (as well,as its parts)', and illustrates
the generality of the formal framework proposed by the Indian
aestheticians.
utprek~ii (III): (1) the ascription of a characteristic or mode of behavior
to a subject, not through direct comparison with an implicit object,
as in simile, but via a conventional attribute of that object to which
the subject bears a certain relation. (2) R 8.36 (37). (3) atighana-
nr~iif[l giitrii~y
136
137
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
subject. Since the relation is inherent and does not involve the
context, Rudra(a considers it sarrzbhiivita ('hypothetical'). In the
next variety of utprek~ii, the subject does not possess a plausible
relation to the object.
lItprek~ii (V): (1) a metaphorical ascription of a property or mode of
behavior justified by au accidental but relevant context. (2) R 9.11
(13). (3) pallavitarrz candrakarair akhilarrz nf!{jsmakullim{jrvf~U /
tiiriipratimiibhir idarrz pu~pitam avanipatel; saudham (Rudra(a; the
moonbeams make the stucco palace appear as if flowering: "Its
spacious floors set with sapphires, the entire royal palace seemed
covered with buds in the moonlight; its fine stucco walls were forced
into flower by reflections of stars'). (4) "Arthur Donnithorne was ...
stared at, from a dingy olive-green piece of tapestry, by Pharoah's
daughter and her maidens, who ought to have been minding the
infant Moses" (George Eliot; the P~"70ah's daughter, being present
only in a piece of tapestry, would not ordinarily be characterized as
"staring" were it not for the handsome young Arthur, who distracts
her). (5) This utprek~ii can be seen as one in which the ascription is
more in view of the grammatical direct object of the assertion than
its grammatical subject. (Note that the words subject and object
are not used here as "subject of comparison", etc.) The ascription
could be called "transitive": the moonbeams do not behave as
vivifiers because of some quality which they inherently possess, but
only because of their effect on the stones of the palace; similarly,
the portrait does not "stare" because the artist has woven her that
way, but because, of the presence of an object to be stared at, namely
Arthur. It mighf,appear that it was in fact the grammatical object
(jewels, Arthur) in these examples which subtended the ascribed
quality; au interpretation of this sort is lent authority by both examples being in the passive voice. There are two reasons why this
view cau not be accepted: the passives can always be expressed as
actives with no alteration whatever in the argument, and the Sanskrit
authors always speak of the ascribed quality as a kriyti, or simply,
'act.' It is this act which, aside from grammatical expression,
constitutes the basic element of the utprek~ii, and in terms of the act
are defined subject (kartr) and object (ktiralJa). It would be perverse
to use these well-known terms in a non-standard sense. The subject
is the only plausible basis for the act, and these two types of ascription differ precisely in the reference of that ascription to the third
term (the direct object), or in the ascription's irrelevance to it.
138
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
139
involves no other issues than the extreme frequency with which this
particular metaphorical complex is encountered. The poet is always
tempted to draw out his ascriptions (utprek~as), especially as they can
become quite obscure without much effort, and certainly because an
enlarged metaphor is more of a poetic object than an abbreviated
one. Vamana's definition of utprelqavayava is brief in the extreme
and quite misleading at first glance: he says simply: "utprek~ahetur
utprek~avayavab" ('utprek~avayava means the cause of an utprek~a
[is given]'). This is to be understood in the sense that the subordinate
metaphors or similes define the broader context in which the main
utprek~a becomes alive.
uditta
uditta, 'lofty': (I) a figure in which great accumulation of wealth or
greatness of character (viz. self-denial) is described. (2) B 3.12 (II, 13),
D 2.300-303, U 4.8, M 176-77. (3) muktab kelivisutrahtiragalitab
sa'f1marjanfbhir hrtab pratab praiigal;lasfmni mantharaealadMlaiighrilak~arul;ltib / durad darjimabijasaiikitadhiyab kar~anti kelfSuka yad
vidvadbhavane~ubhojanrpates tat tyagalflayitam (Mammaja: "Bestow-
>:":"
utprek~avayava
utprek~avayava,
'component parts of the ascription': (I) a type of metaphorical ascription (utprek~a) in which further subordinate metaphors
explicate and expand the principal ascription. (2) B 3.46 (47),
V 4.3.31, 33. (3) aiigulfbhir iva kdasa'f1eaya'f1 sa'f1nigrhya timira'f1
marfcibhib / kurjmalfkrtasarojaloeana'f1 eumbativa rajanfmukha'f1 saH
(Vamana; the principal ascription is: "the moon, as it were, kisses
the face of the night"; this is extended by drawing a parallel between
fingers playing with a maiden's tresses and the rays of the moon
glancing through the darkness (as through tree branches, etc.):
"Grasping the darkness with its rays as though it were hair and they
were fingers, the moon kisses the face of the night, her eyes demurely
closed-lotuses on the lake unbloomed !"). (4) "The Moon, like a
flower, / In heaven's high bower, / With silent delight / Sits and smiles
on the uight" (William Blake; ahnost identical to Vamana's example,
except that the subordinate parallel is between the moon itself and a
flower). (5) Utprelqavayava is an independent figure in Bhamaha,
and one of the two compound figures (sa'f1Sr~li) allowed by Vamana
(see upamarupaka); it may be considered in the same context as
utprek~a. It differs from simple utprek~a only in being associated
with other and subordinate figures in a "mixed" metaphor. Both the
English and Sanskrit examples show an upama and a rupaka in
conjunction with the principal utprek~a. Later writers consider this
figure nothing but one of the many kinds of multiple ala'f1kara
(sa'f1Sr,'li), and its early enumeration as a separate figure probably
140
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
141
142
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
143
defined above; who indeed wonld deprive the scientist of the use of
such convenient explanatory devices as "sodium reacts like potassium
in many compounds". Perhaps it is for this reason that Bhamaha,
the earliest writer we know about, avers that no figure can be really
poetic unless it also has a touch of exaggeration, or atisayokti
(B 2.81,85), associated with it (repeated by DaI;lqin 2.220). Bhamaha,
Udbhata, and Mammata all emphasize in defining upamii that the
things compared must in fact be substantially different-'contrary
by reason of place, time, or mode of action', as Bhamaha says.
Mammata boldly defines simile as 'similarity in difference' (siidharmyal?' bhede). But the other writers, though they consider only
similes which by any standard would be considered poetic, do not
appear to have been aware ofthe problem of over-extension, or "end",
as it were. DaI;l<;1in says only that upamii is siidrsyam ('similitude').
The problem is perhaps more academic than real, since the nonpoetic similes are just those where the expressive potential of
simile is least well exploited, that is, where so little difference is
understood between the terms that comparison itself is almost otiose.
It might almost be said: "give a simile something to do, and it will
be poetic". The comparison of sodium and potassium is not unpoetic because of the subject matter, but just because, for all practical
purposes, the two things are in fact indistinguishable, are like
Tweedledum and Tweedledee (note that the last simile is highly
poetic).
Simile is limited on the one side by the indistinguishability or
literal replacability of its terms, but it also has the same limit on the
other side, for beyond simile lies the realm of metaphor (rupaka),
where, despite differences great enough to permit scope to simile,
the terms of comparison are identified with each other-said in such
a way that sameness alone is suggested and not similarity-as in
the phrase "reahu of metaphor." The mode or the modal reality
ofthe comparison changes, but the terms of its description do not;
in rupaka, for instance, the object of comparison (upamiina) is
"projected onto" (meta-phor) or, as we say, identified with the subject
of comparison (upameya): not "her face is like the moon" but "her
face is the moon" (the moon of her face delights the evening crowd).
The common property is usnally not expressed, since the aim of
metaphor is to suppress all difference; the comparative particle of
course is necessarily absent (but cf utprek$ii, where it reappears in
a new sense).
range of literally irrelevant and incomparable aspects and connotations of each term so juxtaposed taken separately, and presents only
those two things as manifesting some common aspect, the tertium,
which by the force of this being abstracted and displayed alone, as
it were, redounds to the descriptive credit of the original subject.
Simile, accomplishes this feat of intellective specification by the use
of particles such as "like" (iva).
The simile is limited in its expressive power only by the ability
of the mind to comprehend the two things as common; the appropriateness of the simile is primarily a question of the comparing
object being precisely proportioned to the subject in just that aspect
which is contextually relevant,. although in rare cases the object
itself may have to be consideri,'d.
All Indian writers agree on analyzing the simile into the four component aspects we have introduced.;;(a) the upameya, or 'thing to be
compared': the subject of comparison, through which the simile is
related to the literal or outward sequence of ideas which constitute
the framework of the poem (compare this literal and grammatical
freedom of the subject in upamii with its uecessary subordination in
rupaka); (b) the upamiina, or 'agent of comparison': the object
introduced to concentrate attention on the essentials of aspect or
behavior; (c) the siidhiiravadharma, 'shared property': the quality
so singled out; and (d) the dyotaka, or 'clarifying' element: the
comparative adverb "like" (iva), or a similar indicator. This terminology goes back at least to PaI;lini, who uses it in describing certain
compounds which express comparisons (3.1.10, 3.4.45, 2.1.55-56,
etc.). The same concepts are also used to describe those figures which
depend upon a basic simile but do not express an explicit comparison,
such as rupaka, utprek$ii, vyatireka, etc. In this work, the words
"subject" and "object" are used in the senses given above unless
otherwise specified, and some care must be taken not to confuse
this usage with the more common philosophical or grammatical
subjects or objects.
All comparisons necessarily involve an element of non-identity,
but of course the terms of some comparisons are far more "realistic"
(sc. similar) than others, as: "Featured like him, like him with friends
possessed" (Shakespeare). Vamana alone of our authors Seems to
have perceived this problem and allows a simile called tattviikhyiina,
or 'literal', where the end is not praise or blame, but merely precision.
Simile here seems to leave the strictly poetic realm, in the sense
144
145
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
146
GLOSSARY
The contextual point of view loses ground after Dat.l<;lin; only the
Agni PuriiQa is fully committed to it. Vamana allows the threefold distinction "stuli [for praimllsii] nindii tattviikhyiina", presumably
more on the authority of Bharata than Dat.l<;lin, but at the same time,
he suggests another distinction which soon becomes dominant, and
which is clearly based on the method of Bhiimaha. This distinction
is the first which clearly sets forth the four elements of simile as
criteria. A simile in which all four elements are explicit is called
pi1rQa, or 'complete'; if one or more of the elements is implicit only,
the simile is called lupta, or 'deficient'. Bhiimaha's samiisopamii
would be an example of a lupta upamii, since neither the tertium
nor the particle are expressed. },Jdbha;a, who follows Bhiimaha in
most matters, here adapts the purQa-lupta distinction to his predecessor's three types and comes up w.ith fourteen varieties of simile.
Calling It/pta saYflk$epa, or 'ellipsis1i'Ydbha;a defines four varieties
depending on which element or elemlmtsate not expressed (tertium,
particle, both, both plus subject). (See siimyaviicaka, tadviicisaYflk$epa.) Mammata takes up this problem again and goes to
absurd lengths to illustrate certain possible ellipses (cf. upameyadyotakalupta). These types usually amount to Bhiimaha's samiisopamii,
but some involve other principles.
Udbhata also improves upon Bhiimaha's category vali, where,
it will be remembered, the object of comparison was bound by a
comparative suffix -vat. Admitting this type, Udbhata then finds
certain other morphological contexts where the object of comparison
in some form or'other appears in bound form with verb-, adverb-,
or adjective-forming suffixes. The Sanskrit language, in fact, allows
any noun to be made into a verb having the sense of "behaves like X"
(see iiciira); likewise an adverbial accusative in -am, always distinguished from the accusative case, may express the idea of similitude
when suffixed to the object of comparison (see Qamul). Lastly, other
taddhita suffixes than -vat are comparative in meaning (-kalpa, g.v.).
Rudra;a in a way represents a summation of the structural
tradition. He allows the same three types as Bhiimaha and Udbhata,
calling them viikyopamii (not the same as Dat.l<;lin's viikyarthOpamii)
for Bhiimaha's yatMvaiabdopamii, as opposed to samiisopamii,
which name Rudrata keeps, and pratyaya, or suffixed similes, by
which term Rudra;a apparently intends all those formed by suffixation as described by Udbhata. In reference to samiisa upamii, it
might be remarked that the compound so formed is a bahuvrihi, or
GLOSSARY
147
148
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Here the common property is not shared to different degrees, yet the
two similars are not "confused" as in salflsaya. In ca!u, the common
property is shared to different degrees, but that difference is overlooked. See also pratiyamana vyatireka, bhedamatra vyatireka,
149
vyatirekariipaka.
adbhuta, 'marvellous': (1) an upama in which a real property of the subject is predicated of the object; a presumed similitude is thus expressed. (2) D 2.24, AP 344.16. (3) yam kilf!cid bhavet padmam
udbhru vibhrantalocanam / tat te mukhasriyalf! dhattam (Dal,lQin: "If
there were a lotus with arching brows and roaming glance, then it
would have the beauty of your face"). (4) '''It's lovely, lovely, lovelY',
she said, with diminishing caden.S', ending in pensiveness once more.
'Do you see that little bit just there? No, not where the trees are-that
bare spot that looks brown and "Yarm in the sun. With a little
sage-brush, that spot would look s<in;~thing like a place I know on
Bear Creek. Only, of course, you don't get the clear air here'"
(Owen Wister). (5) Cf. abhiita, asadharaJ}a.
auauvaya, 'lack of consequence': (I) self-comparison; an upama in which
the subject doubles as object. (2)R ~.11 (12). (3) iyam iyam iva
tava ca tanul; ... (Rudrata: "Your body resembles itself alone").
(4) "It was always a source of great preoccupation with the ladies
that no bit of pad should show through the natural hair. Often
they put up a tentative hand to feel, even in the midst of the most
absorbing conversation; and then their faces wore the expression
which is seen only on the faces of women whose fingers investigate the
back of their heads" (Vita Sackville-West). (5) This figure is an
iudependent ala/ttkara for Bhamaha (3.44), Vamana (4.3.14),
Udbhata (6.4), and Mammata (135). Dal,lQiu (2.358) considers it
equivalent to his asadharava upama.
aniyama, 'absence of restriction': (1) an upama in which the similitude
is said to extend to any object exhibiting the common property.
(2) D 2.20, AP 344.12. (3)padmalf! tavat taviinveti mukham anyac ca
tadrsam / asti ced astu tatkari (Dal,lQin: "Your face resembles the
lotus, and whatever may be said to be similar to the lotus-why your
face resembles that as well"). (4) "When, dearest I but think of thee, /
Methinks all things that lovely be / Are present, and my soul
delighted" (Sir John Suckling). (5) Cf. niyama. This figure differs
from acikhyasa in that there the idea is that we are debating the
appropriateuess of the object of comparison.
anyonya, 'mutual': (1) au upama in which the similitude is made reciprocal.
150
151
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
your face is indeed like itself alone"). (4) '''She [Nature] is', the
secretary coutinued, 'like an assemblage of blondes and brunettes,
whose tresses-' 'Oh, bother the blondes and brunettes!' 'Well, she
is like a picture gallery, where the features-' 'No, no; Nature is
like Nature; why introduce simil,s?'" (Voltaire, quoted by E. M.
Forster). (5) AsadhiiralJa is a vifiation of ananvaya, from which it
differs in that the object of compari~on, though ultimately rejected,
is m e n t i o n e d . ) O T
acara, 'conduct': (I) a type of upama in wlllch the object is expressed in a
verbal form. (2) U 1.17,19. (3) sa dubsthiyan krtiirtho'pi nibSe~ai
Svaryasaf[lpada / nikamakamaniye'pinarakiyati kanane (Udbha!a:
"He [Siva], all goals fulfilled in his infinite power, nevertheless suffered
[behaved himself in the manner of one suffering] in that forest lovely
yet filled with the tortures of hell [behaving like hell; helling]").
(4) "The hills belly-rumbled with thunder" (McDonald Hastings).
(5) This facility of Sanskrit is a function of the denominative conjugation, whereby any noun or adjective can be transformed into a
verb having the sense of "resembling, acting like X" (paJ.lini 3.1.10).
In the following example, a comparison is first drawn, then the object
is cleverly substituted for the grammatical subject in order to produce
a similar effect: "And there he would lie all day long on the lawn
brooding presumably over his poetry, till he reminded one of a cat
watching birds, and then he clapped his paws together when he had
found the word ..." (Virginia Woolf). By other writers, this type of
comparison is classified differently: see pratyaya, upameyadyotakalupta, dharmadyotakalupta.
Compare also colloquial English "to rat", and "to dovetail," etc.
ac!khyasa, 'wanting to explain': (I) an upama in which the propriety
or aptness of the comparison is in doubt. (2) B 2.37, D 2.32. (3)
candrelJa tvanmukhaf[l tulyam ity acikhyasu me manab / sa gUlJo
viistu do~o va (Da(l<,lin: "Your face is indeed like the moon, but I
tions of the lotus petals (in the pond), and if that skin might be
touched-there would be something that might be comparable to
the gossamer of her breasts"). (4) "The new moon behind her head,
an old helmet upon it, a diadem of accidental dewdrops round her
brow, would have been adjuncts sufficient to strike the note of
Artemis, Athena or Hera" (Thomas Hardy). (5) In adbhuta upama,
a property is hypothetically transferred from subject to object; here
the object is hypothesized as a substratum for the property. Compare
the following ritpaka, where the basis of the identification is likewise
hypothesized: "Dr. MacBride had fixed upon me his full, mastering
eye: and it occurred to me that if they had policemen in heaven,
152
GLOSSARY
utprek~lta,
"... I give you your choice which was the bluest-the aimlessly
fluttering butterflies, the nodding harebells, or her demure and
reprehensible eyes" (Oliver Onions). (5) The name of this simile
may be taken in the sense of "reflected, considered", in which case
the emphasis in the examples sB,?uld be placed on the judicious
meditation of the speaker vis-avis the scope of his simile. Utprek$ita differs from salflsayopama in that the confusion in the latter is between the object and the subject, and from nir~aya in that
the object in that case is distinguish~d from its own subject, not
putatively, as here, from several other objects.
upamiiuadharmadyotakalupta, 'ellipsis of the object, common property,
and the particle of comparison': . (I) self-explanatory term. (2)
M 134. (3) mrganayana harate muner mana!; (Mammata: "Gazelleeyes' steals the ascetic's mind away"). (4) "Perhaps he lurks in
yonder woodbine bower / To steal soft kisses from her lips, and
catch / Ambrosial odours from her passing sighs" (William Whitehead). (5) The compound mrganayana ('gazelle-eyed') and the phrase
"ambrosial odours" are alone relevant here. Each is a simile in
miniature when interpreted, for example, "whose eyes are like the
eyes of a gazelle";';'Only the subject is explicit: "eyes" and "odours"
are mentioned but once and are taken as the subjects of comparison.
Cf upameyadharmadyotakalupta.
upamiinalupta, 'ellipsis of the object': (I) an upama in which the object of
comparison is not made explicit. (2) M 129. (3) sakalakara~a
paraviSramasrfvifara~alfl
alflsalflsamatre~a
GLOSSARY
153
154
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
155
(2) R 8.29 (3 I). (3) kamaladalair adharair iva dasanair iva kesarair
virlijante / alivalayair alakair iva kamalair vadanair iva nalinyah
(Rudrata: "The lotuses are splendid-their petals like lips, their
filaments like teeth, bees like locks of hair swarming about their
face-like blooms"). (4) " ... Mr. Moseley came in and knocked on
the counter with a half crown. His face was as red as red ink; and
he had a complete new colour scheme, all in browns. Brown suit,
the colour of old ale. Golden brown tie like lager. Brown boots
shining like china beer handles. Guinness socks. And a new brown
bowler, the colour of bitter beer, over his left eye" (Joyce Cary).
(5) See samastavastu upamli, in which the major terms are mentioned.
'."
ekababu, 'singular-plural': (1) an upamli in which the subject is plural
and the object singular. (2) NS 16.42 (43). (3) sasafikavat praklisante
jyotirrz# (Bharata: "The stars shinelil<.e the rabbit-marked moon").
(4) "These parties oftheirs ... were like chain-smoking: each cigarette
was lighted in the hope that it might be more satisfactory than the
rest" (Vita Sackville-West). (5) By later writers, non-parallelism
of number is considered a defect (vacanabheda do~a). Here we have
a curious inconsistency in the general tendency to preserve a classification at any cost. The terms of most similes are, of course, parallei: "She stood breast-high among the corn, / ... Like the sweetheart of the sun" (Thomas Hood).
kalpapprabhrti, 'having the form of, etc.': (I) an upamli which contains
such an expression of comparison instead of the comparative particle
("as", "like"). (2) U 1.21. (3) caQl/.iilakalpe kandarparrz plu${Vli
mayi tirohite / sart!jlitdtulanairlisyli kirrz sli soklin mrtli bhavet (Udbhata: "While I was hidden there in the form of an outcaste man, Love
was consumed; and she [Parvati], in whom an immense despair was
born, appeared about to die of sorrow"). (4)" ... drawn with Diireresque vigor and dash" (Thomas Hardy). (5) For other examples of
similes formed with taddhita suffixes, see s.V. and sadrsa, samlisa.
kalpita, 'artificial': (I) an upamli wherein the similitude is stated in terms
of comparable properties of the subject and object, but not through
one property, common to both. (2) NS 16.46 (49), AP 344.21, R 8.13
(14). (3) mukham lipurQakapolarrz mrgamadalikhitdrdhapattralekharrz
te / bhiiti lasatsakalakalarrz sphu(allifichanam indubimbam iva (Rudrata: "Your face, full-cheeked and bearing the beauty marks of musk,
resembles the full moon's orb with its argent spots"). (4) "I saw
the professor winking:at me so hard that his face was like a con-
157
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
proud and haughty"). (4) "And then the hyena laughed out. Pleased
at such an arrangement! Pleased at having her enemy converted
into a dean with twelve-hundred a year! Medea, when she describes
the customs of her native country ... assures her astonished auditor
that in her land captives, when taken, are eaten. 'You pardon them?'
says Medea. 'We do indeed,' says the mild Grecian. 'We eat them!'
says she of Calchis, with terrific energy. Mrs. Proudie was the Medea
of Barchester; she had no idea of not eating Mr. Slope" (Anthony
Trollope). (5) Cf tulyayogitii alarrzkiira where the same conjunctiou
is expressed literally and not through the use of figurative devices
(simile or metaphor).
dyotakalupta, 'ellipsis of the comparative particle': (I) self-explanatory
term. (2) M 130. (3) tatab ... kiiminfgalJapiilJunii / ... candrelJa
miihendrf dig alarrliqtii (Mamma\a; the Sanskrit translates literally as
"Iover's-cheek-pale moon": "The eastern quarter is adorned by the
moon pale as a lover's cheek"). (4) "Her forehead ivory white"
(Edmund Spenser). (5) Mamma!a also includes here certain denominative constructions: cf iiciira and dharmadyotakalupta. This variety
of ellipsis is also known as tadviici, pratyaya, viidi, q.v.
dbarma, 'property': (I) an upamii in which the similitude is spelled out by
mentioning the comparable property or aspect of the two terms.
(2) D 2.15, AP 344.10. (3) ambhoruham ivatiimrarrz mugdhe karatalarrz
tava (Da!).qin: "The palm of your hand is like a pale lotus"). (4)
"River roughed up with little waves like the flat side of a cheese
grater" (Joyce Cary). (5) Cf vastu, where that property is implicit.
The notion of property is here taken in an exact sense, and presumably excludes those similes based on mode of action or result; cf
viikyartha. Vamana uses the word gUlJa instead of dharma; cf the
commonplace distinction gulJa-kriyii. Here is an example of a simile
whose common property is a mode of action: "Richard arrested
his resumption of speech, and he continued slowly to fizz like an
ill-corked effervescence" (George Meredith).
dbarmadyotakalupta, 'ellipsis of the common property and the particle of
comparison': (I) self-explanatory term. (2) M 131. (3) savitii
156
(Vamana; Rohi!).! or Taurus, the ':re<;l one", is so called from Aldebaran, the main star: "Know that configuration of stars to be
Rohi!).! which in form resembles a cart"). (4) "To my notion all of
the early part of Mourning Becomes Electra has the sinewy and
homely narrative strength of-let me reach for a comparison which
does him neither too little nor too much honor-a novel by Charles
Reade" (Alexander Woollcott). (5) For Vamana, this is the middle
term in the triad:stuti ... nlndii. Cf DaJ:lqin, where tattvakhyiina is
replaced by iicikhjiiisii-doubt as to the appropriateness of praise or
blame.
taddbita, 'secondary suffix': (I) an upamii utilizing such a suffix to express
the comparison. (2) U 1.20, M 127. (3) (4) For examples, see
subtypes vati, kalpapprabhrti. (5) The well-known grammatical
term. Mamma\a distinguishes taddhita upamii from similes formed
by samiisa (compounding), q.v.
tadvacisaJllk~epa:ellipsis of the comparative particle': (I) same as
dyotakalupta. (2) U 1.18.
tulyayoga, 'conjunction of equals': (I) an upamii in which the object is of
strikingly exalted station vis-It-vis the subject. (2) D 2.48 (49).
moon and the moon, the sun; the hours of the night are as those of
the day and those of the day, the night for one whose mind is afllicted
by the round of pleasure and pain"). (4) "No profane hand shall
(3) divo jiigarti rak,siiyal pulomarir bhuvo bhaviin / asuriis tena hanyante
savalepiis tvayii nrpiib (Da!).qin: "Indra keeps watch in heaven and
you, 0 Lord, on earth; demons are slain by him and by you, the
158
159
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
vakytirthavrtti, dharma.
iicikhyiisii, tattvtikhyiina.
ninda (II): (1) an upamii wherein, by an ironic depreciation of the object,
(3) svapne'pi samare$U tViilJ1 vijayasrir na muiicati / prabhiivaprabhaval!' kiintal!' svddhinapatikii yathii (Mammala: "Even in the sleep
wanes; your face, though similar, is more proud"). (4) "If When the
sun at noon displays / His brighter rays, / Thou but appear, / He then
all pale with shame and fear, / Quencheth his light, / Hides his dark
brow, flys from thy sight, / And grows more dim / Compared to
thee than stars to hini" (Thomas Carew). (5) See above.
161
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
both resemble your face"). (4) "She stood breast-high among the
corn, I Clasp'd by the golden light of morn, I Like the sweetheart of
the sun, I Who many a glowing kiss had won" (Thomas Hood).
(5) This figure illustrates the definition of the upamana (object of
comparison) as "that term in which the property resides to a higher
degree"; by drawing a comparison with an exalted object, the subject
necessarily participates in its elevation. Cf ninda, which can also
praise the subject through irony. Prasalflsa is the same as stuti.
babu, 'many': (1) an upama in which a number of different objects are
mentioned. (2) D 2.40, AP 344.14. (3) candanOdakacandralflsucandrakanttidisftalal; I sparsas tava (DaJ;l<)in: "Your touch is cool as
moonstone, as the fall of moonbeams, as sandal-water"). (4) "As
lightning, or a taper's light, I Thine eyes, and not thy noise, waked me"
(John Donne). (5) Bahudiffers from utprek#ta in that here there is no
effort to find the right object; from mala 11 in that there the multitude
of objects manifests a multitude of properties, here there is but one
property.
babveka, 'plural-singular': (1) an upama in which the subject is singular
and the object plural. (2) NS 16.42 (44). (3) syenabarhivabhtisanalfl
tulyarthal; [sa kascit] (Bharata: "He is like eagles, peacocks, and
hawks"). (4) "Behold a critic, pitched like the castrati" (Theodore
Roethke). (5) See the note on ekabahu. An example of comparing
plural with plural is: " ... elegant shoppers wrapped like dainty
bears" (Edgell Rickword). Bharata, not an accomplished classifier,
neglects the possibilities offered by the Sanskrit dual.
milla (I), 'garland': (1) an upama in which a series of comparisons are
given which not only involve the same similitude, but in which a
qualification of that similitude becomes the subject of the following
simile. (2) D 2.42. (3) pil$VY atapa ivahniva pil$a vyomniva vasaral; I
vikramas tvayy adhtillak$mfm (Dawpn: "Victory founded its good
fortune on you, just as the heat did in the sun, the sun did in the day,
and the day did in the sky"). (4) "He moves among men as most
men move among things" (Bernard Shaw). (5) This type of malti
differs from the following in that there but one similitude is stated.
It differs from rasana in that the architectonic moves from substratum
to manifestation rather than from subject of comparison to object
of comparison. Cf asalflbhtivita.
milla (11): (1) an upama in which one subject is compared to several objects
through one or several properties. (2) AP 344.15, R 8.25 (26), M 134.
(3) sytimiilateva tanvi candrakatevatinirmala sa me I halflsiva kalalapa
160
it
162
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
eaitanyal1' harati nidreva (Rudrala: "Slender as the dark creeper, spotless as the new-born, waxing moon, soft-throated as the swan,
she steals my reason as do dreams"). (4) "What follows should be
prefaced with some simile-the simile of a powdermine, a thunderbolt, an earthquake-for it blew Philip up in the air and flattened
him on the ground and swallowed him up in the depths" (E. M.
Forster). (5) This figure is the same as kil1'citsadrSi, except that
here the possibility of one property is allowed, at least by Mammala:
"My heart is like a singing bird I Whose nest is in a water'd shoot; I
My heart is like an apple-tree I Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit; I My heart is like a rainbow shell I That paddles in a halcyon
sea; I My heart is gladder than,~!1 these, I Becanse my love is come
to me" (Christina Georgina Rossetti). Bhiimaha (2.38) mentIOns
the term miilii, but not in a way th~t would permit precise definition
of its significance.
<::~> .
moba, 'bewilderment': (I) an upamii in wh.iSh thetwo terms ofcomparison
are confused with one another. (2) D 2.25, AP 344.17. (3) sasity
utprek~ya tanvaiigi tvanmukhal1' tvanmukhiisayii I indum apy anudhiiviimi (Dal.u;!in: "Now I'm runniqg ~bout after the moon, seeking
for your face, for I thought that your face was the moon"). (4)
'''When I slung my teeth over that,' he remarked, 'I thought I was
chewing a hammock'" (Owen Wister). (5) Moha differs from bhriintimat alal1'kiira only in that the comparability of the two confused
terms is here necessarily paramount.
yatbC'vasabda, 'the words yathii (as) and iva (like)': (I) an upamii wherein
the force of the comparison is borne by one of these words, the usual
adverbial particles of comparison. (2) B 2.31, U 1.16. (3) k~aJ;lal1'
kiimajvarotthityai bhuyab sal1'tiipavrddhaye I viyoginiim abhuc eiindr;
eandrikii eandanal1' yathii (Udbhala: "The moonlight of the full
moon, like sandal paste, rouses the sudden fever of love in parted
lovers and so increases their suffering"). (4) "And there was Hetty,
like a bright-cheeked apple hanging over the orchard wall" (George
Eliot). (5) Yathevasabda is to be distinguished from those similes
expressed through compounding (samiisa). See also dyotakalupta
upamii.
rasaua, 'rope': (I) a concatenation of upamiis in which the subject of
comparison of the first simile is the same as the object of comparison
of the following. (2) R 8.27 (28), M 134C. (3) nabha iva vimalal1'
salilal1' salilam iviinandakiiri sasibimbam I sasibimbam iva lasaddyuti
tarUlJ;vadanal1' sarat kurute (Rudrala: "The autumn season makes
the crystal water clear as sky, the round, refreshing moon limpid as
water, the maiden's coquettish mien like the glancing moon"). (4) "If
when the sun at noon displays IHis brighter rays, IThou but appear, I
He ... I ... I ... grows more dim I Compared to thee than stars to
him" (Thomas Carew).
lupta, 'ellipsis': (I) an upamii in which at least one ofthe four characteristic elements is not explicitly stated. (2) V 4.2.6, M 126. (3) (4) See
the various subtypes grouped under the names of the element dropped: upameya, upamiina, dyotaka, dharma. (5) All the writers implicitly recognize this type, beginning with Bhiimaha who distingnlshes
similes containing a particle of comparison (yathevasabda) from
those formed by compounding and therefore without such a particle.
Likewise, Dal)<;lin distingnlshes dharma and vastu upamiis on the
basis of the former mentioning the common property and the latter
not. The distinction between punJa and lupta upamii has, however,
become such a commonplace in the later poetics that it is usually
imposed by commentators whenever possible upon the earlier writers,
even though they manifestly had other reasons for arranging their
distinctions in the way they did. Mammala shows the way, being
the first writer to' ignore completely considerations of subject matter
and intention in defining simile in favor of elements of construction.
This may be called the triumph of the material principle over the
final.
I have the following simile to add to Mammala's collection, which
seems to exhibit ellipsis of both the subject and object of comparison:
"Smell of boot polish like a lion cage" (Joyce Cary). Here someone's
boots are being compared to those of a lion tamer.
vati, 'the suffix -vat ('like'): (I) an upama wherein the force of the comparison is borne by such a particle suffixed to the object of comparison. (2) B 2.33, U 1.20-21; M 127. (3) dvijiitivad adhite 'sau
guruvac canuMsti nab (Bhiimaha: "Brahmin-like he studies; gurulike he instructs us"). (4) "Lion-like March cometh in" (W. D.
Howells). (5) This is the example par excellence of the use of a
taddhita suffix in forming similes. In English, the same word may be
used in or out of compound, but in Sanskrit, the morphemes are
different: -vat only in compound, iva never in compound. In the
ordinary uncompounded simile (ef viikyarthavrtti and piidarthavrtti),
this type is subdivided into those which express a nominal comparison
and those which express a verbal comparison. The examples given
illustrate the latter subtype, which seems more natural. Compare the
163
164
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
phrase" ... drawn with Dureresque vigor and dash" (Thomas Hardy),
which expresses a purely nomiual similitude (vigor like that ofDurer).
This type is recognized by Yaska (3.17), who asserts that it
expresses a perfect or total similitude (siddha), as opposed to a
partial or presumed similitude expressed by iva.
vastu, 'the real thing': (1) same as dharmalupta upamti. (2) D 2.16, AP
344.10. (5) The name implies, according to the commentary, that
the emphasis is to be placed on the things compared, rather than on
the common property. See the note on lupta.
viikya, 'phrase': (I) an uparnti in which the comparison is expressed in
the form of a phrase, that is, a relation of independent words. (2)
R 8.5-16, M 127. (3) svapne'pi sqmare~u tvtif/1 vijayasrir na muficati /
prabhavaprabhavaf/1 kantaf/1 svtidhinapatika yatha (Mammata: see
pur1)a for the translation). (4) "Let us go then, you and I / When
the evening is spread out against tli~.~kY / Like a patient etherized
upon a table" (T. S. Eliot). (5) In this sensb,the term is.distinguished
from similes formed by compounding and those which are telescoped
into verbs (cf samasa, taddhita, pratyaya). As an instance of the
baroque complexity which these classifications can attain, take the
two terms pur1J[l uparna and vakya uparna. For Mammata, vakya is
the first subtype of pUY1)a; for Rudrata, pur1)a is the first subtype of
vakya. Although both authors define the term vakya in approximately the same way, the system of classification in which the term
figures obliges us to modify that meaning slightly and consider its
two occurences to be of different scope. For Rudrata, a dharmalupta
upama is a type ofvakya on the same level as apur1)a; for Mammata,
it is simply a noii'pur1)a and mayor may not be a vakya.
viikyiirtbavrtti, 'whose scope is the phrase': (1) an upama whose two
terms extend each to an entire phrase .or sentence. (2) D 2.43 (4445), V 4.2.3, AP 344_19. (3) tvadananam adhrrak~arn avirdasanadidhiti /
bhramadbhriigam ivalak~yakesaraf/1 bhati paiikajam (Dal).gin: "your
face of gently roaming glance and lustrous smile gleams like a lotus
with its darting bees and filaments so fine"). (4) "The readers of
the Boston Evening Transcript / Sway in the wind like a field of ripe
corn" (T. S. Eliot). (5) These similes extend to the entire phrase in
the sense that the similitude involves, and in fact is basically a function of, the verb. On the other hand, a "simple" simile expresses a
direct relationship between two nouns through a common property
(cf padarthavrlli) and does not involve the sentence itself, that is,
the grammatical asso6iation of noun plus verb. A simile extending
I
C
165
166
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
(3) satapattrall'l saraccandras tvaddnanam iti trayam I parasparavirodhi (Dav.gin: "The hundred-petaled lotus, the autumn moon, your
167
face-these three are warring"). (4) '''Speak,' she said, 'thou fairest; I
Beauty thou impairest ... '" (Henry Constable; here Venus addresses
Adonis). (5) The idea seems to be that nothing breeds incompatibility
like similitude. In atMaya, the difference between the terms of comparison is minimized; here that minimum is dialectically turned into
its opposite: mutual contradiction.
vyatireka, 'distinction': (1) an upamd of the Agni Pur(1)a whose meaning
is unclear. There are no parallels. (2) AP 344.14. (5) The text
reads: "yad ucyate'tiriktatvafll vyatirekopama tu sa" ("where pre~
eminence is expressed, that is ca1t2d vyatirekiJpamd"). This figure is
probably the same as atMaya upama.
sranti, 'audible': (1) an upama in which. the force of the comparisou is
made explicit. (2) M 127. (3) svapn~'lH samare~u tvall'l vijayasrlr na
muiicati I prabhavaprabhavall'l kantart! sVddhlnapatika yathii (Mammata; see piir1)a for the translation). (4) "However, I kept myself
safe yet, though I began, like my Lord Rochester's mistress, that
loved his company, but would notadJllit him farther, t6 have the
scandal of a whore, without the joy" (Daniel Defoe). (5) A subtlety
is intended: cf. arthf and vakya upama.
sle~a, 'double-entendre': (1) an upama in which the common property
is replaced by a pun. (2) D 2.28. (3) sisirdll'lSupratispardhi srlmat
surabhigandhi ca I ambhojam iva te vaktram (DaJJQin; "rival"means
"enemy" when applied to the lotus, "similar to" when applied to the
face, and Sri refers to the goddess when applied to the lotus, to
"beauty" when applied to the face: "Like the lotus is your face:
moon's rival, abode of Sri, perfumed"). (4) '''Now it's time I was
up at the office to get my vay-bill and see the coach loaded; for
coaches ... is like guns-they requires to be loaded with wery great
care, afore they go off'" (Charles Dickens; the venerable Mr.
Weller, Sr. speaking). (5) Here we have an example of the ubiquity
of sle~a alall'lkara; DalfQin regularly expresses interrelationships of
figures hy considering one a subtype of another.
sa'llsaya, 'doubt': (1) an upama in which douht is expressed as to
which of the two things being compared is which. (2) D 2.26, AP
344.18. (3) kill'l padmam antarbhrantdli kill'l te lolek~a1)all'l mukham I
mama dolayate cittam (DalfQin: "My mind doth ponder well:
is it a lotus bud with captive bees or a sloe-eyed maiden's face?").
(4) "I observe: 'Our sentimental friend the moon! I Or possibly
d't
168
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
169
170
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
171
upamiisamuccaya
upamiisamuccaya, 'simile-conjunction': (I) same as samiina upamii.
(2) R 4.32 (34).
upamey6pamii
upamey6pamii, 'comparison of the compared': (I) same as anyonya
upamii. (2) B 3.36 (37), V 4.3.15, U 5.14, M 136. (5) Another name
for the same concept is ubhaya upamii.
upamiiriipaka
upamiiriipaka (I), 'simile-metaphor': (I) <l figure consisting of a riipaka
to which is subordinated, in completji:m' of the image, an upamii
('simile'). (2) B 3.34 (35). (3) samagragaganayiimamiinadalJtfo
rathanginal;z / piido jayati siddhastrimukhl!ndunavadarpalJal;z (Bhamaha; according to the commentator, D. T. Tatacharya, the figure
concerns only the final attributive compound: "mukham indur iva
mukhl!ndul;z / tasyiibhiitapiirvo darpm;a ivl!ti"-Iiterally, foot-mirror
[riipaka] for the moonlike faces [upamii]: "May Visl).u's foot be
victorious, which is the measuring stick of the entire heaven and
a new mirror for the moon-like faces of the celestial maidens").
(4) "Thou [West Wind] on whose stream, 'mid the steep sky's commotion, / Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed"
(Shelley). (5) The (Iefinition which Bhiimaha gives is clearly different
from that for the lfgure upamiiriipaka of Vamana (see paraY[lparita
riipaka), but his example is inconclusive. Mukhl!ndu ('face-moon')
would by later writers be considered not an upamii, but another
riipaka (see samasta riipaka); th~ figure would show then a riipaka
subordinated to another riipaka, and indeed illustrate a paraY[lparita
riipaka. Our English example appears to illustrate Bhiimaha's
intention better than his own example: a completely articulated simile
(clouds like leaves) is subjoined to the main metaphor (wind-stream)
in order to give added force to the identification of property or
aspect which that metaphor suggests. Likewise, this independent
figure should not be confused with the upamii, a subspecies of
riipaka, delineated by Dal).<;lin; in this latter case, the metaphorical
identification is completed by a mention of the common property
which justifies it.
.
ubhayauyiisa
ubbayanyiisa, 'introducing both': (I) a figure in which the statement
of two general remarks suggests a parallel between them, which may
in turn suggest a specific reference but in which there is no explicit
comparison. (2) R 8.85 (86). (3) sakalajagatsiidhiirm;avibhavii bhuvi
siidhavo'dhunii viraliil;z / santi kiyantas taraval;z susviidusugandhiciiruphaliil;z (Rudrata: "Rare indeed are those genial souls whose
dominion is spread throughout the world; how many trees are there
sweet smelling and bearing tender fruit?"). (4) "When the lute is
broken, / Sweet tones are remembered not; / When the lips have
spoken, / Loved accents are soon forgot" (Shelley). (5) This figure
is peculiar to Rudrata and seems to fill the classificatory gap occasioned by his definitions of arthantaranyiisa and dr~tanta: here we
have adjunction of remarks general; in dr~tanta, of remarks specific;
and in arthantaranyiisa, of a remark specific and its appropriate
universal. The purpose of this figure is both illustrative and comparative and may be seen as a continuation of prativastu (prativastiipamii) alaY[lkiira and dr~tanta. Though the references seem to be
general in both examples cited above, a particular (a beneficent king,
a departed mistress) is obviously intended.
iirjasvi
iirjasvi, 'violent': (I) the expression of extraordinary self-assurance or
arrogance. (2) B 3.7, D 2.294 (293), U 4.5. (3) apakartaham asmlti
hrdi te mii sma bhiid bhayam / vimukhe~u na me khatfgal;z prahartuY[l
jiitu viiiichati (Dal).<;lin: "Let there be no fear in your heart from thinking yourself an evil rogue; my sword never wishes to strike the backs
172
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
173
and style, acting and mood; a blend of vigor and gentleness. (2)
AP 345.5. (5) This is one of the six sabddrthala'flkara enumerated by
the Agni PuraQa in an unparalleled treatment (cf abhivyakti, the
sixth such figure). All six are elements of style rather than forms of
speech and belong rather to that subject (guQa). It is difficult to say
precisely what is meant in the text, both due to the lack of examples
and because the Agni PuraQa also gives an entirely unique account
of the guQas themselves. It seems safe to say that Dal).gin's and
Vamana's list of ten has been differently sorted out, some now being
called sabddrthala'flkaras, as kant!, some gUQas, as sle$a. The
catalytic factor may indeed be the dhvani theory (see abhivyakt!),
for the term aucitya is of extreme importance in that latter speculation (Dhvanyaloka, chap. 3); there seems to be no specific reference
to such a concept among Dal).gin's ten gUQas.
of those who flee from me!"). (4) "Nor Mike Fink along the Ohio
and the Mississippi, half wild horse and half cock-eyed alligator,
the rest of him snags and snapping tnrtle. '1 can out-run, out-jump,
out-shoot, out-brag, out-drink, and out-fight, rough and tumble,
no holds barred, any man on both sides of the river from Pittsburgh
to New Orleans and back again to St. Louis. My trigger finger itches
and 1 want to go redhot. War, famine and bloodshed puts flesh on
my bones, and hardship's my daily bread'" (Carl Sandburg).
(5) As the third in the trio preyas, rasavat, urjasvi, this figure may
originally have meant "excess in the portrayal of a rasa", and this
explanation is in fact adopted by Udbhata, though his example in
no way differs from the one giv\,p. The other two writers seem to
pair urjasvi with preyas (excess ofanimosity and excess ofcompliance).
Mammata treats this trio, not under. ala'flkara, but in 'subordinated
suggestion' (guQfbhfltavyangyadhvani.;'g6ff.). He tries to reintegrate
Anandavardhana, who was not interested in figures except as they
manifested a kind of imperfect dhvani, into' the poetic tradition.
Cf rasavat and udatta.
aupamya
aupamya, 'comparative': (I) a generic term for those figures based
ultimately on upama ('simile') or describable in terms of the same
structure (upameya, upamana). (2) R 7.9, 8.1. (5) Rudrata divides
arthtila'flkara into four subtypes: aupamya, vastava (descriptive),
atMaya (hyperbolic), and sle$a (punning). In this, he improves upon
Vamana, who wanted all the figures involving meaning to be derived
from upama.
eklivali
eklivali, 'a single row': (I) a figure in which a series of statements is so
arranged that a notion introduced as a qualification (direct object,
etc.) in a preceding statement becomes the subject of the following
qnalification, and so on. (2) R 7.109 (110-11), M 198. (3) salila'fl
kanti
kaut!, 'loveliness': (I) agreeable or pleasant utterance in appropriate
circumstances. (2) AP 345.4. (5) This is one of the six sabddrthala'flkara of the Agni PuraQa (see aucitya and abhivyakti). Kant!
may be related to the guQa "kanta" of Dal).gin. See prasast!.
vikasikamalam kamalani sugandhimadhusamrddhani I madhu lfndlikuldkulam alik~lam:api madhuraraQitam iha (Rudrata: "The stream is
abloom with lotuses and the lotuses are replete with sweet-smelling
nectar; the nectar is attracting bee swarms, and the bees are gently
buzzing"). (4) "I come from the city of Boston, I The home of the
bean and the cod, I Where the Cabots speak only to Lowells, I And
the Lowells speak only to God" (Anon.). (5) Compare karaQamala,
where a similar causal sequence is portrayed, and sara, where a
gradation of excellences constitutes the "necklace". Mala ('garland')
has of course been associated with many figures, notably upama,
as a series of (usually) concatenated comparisons. The present
figure illustrates a rhetorical form only-that of superad4ed qualification.
karal).amala
karal).amalii, 'garland of causes': (I) a figure wherein an effect (a term so
introduced) is said to be the cause of a subsequent effect, and so on.
(2) R 7.84 (85), M 186. (3) vinayena bhavat! gUQavan guQavat!
loko'nurajyate sakala/z I abhigamyate'nurakta/z sasahiiyo yujyate
lak$mya (Rudrata: "By just actions one attains virtue; the whole
aucitya
aucitya, 'appropriateness':"(J) the appropriate correspondance of subject
I
l
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
174
175
high and blew strong, as the elderly gentleman sat; / And bore from
his head in a trice, and plnnged in the river his hat. / The gentleman
then took his cane which lay by his side as he sat; / And he dropped
in the river his wig, in attempting to get out his hat. / His breast it
grew cold with despair, and full in his eye madness sat; / So he flung
in the river his cane to swim with his wig, and his hat. / Cool reflexion at
last came across while this elderly gentleman sat; / So he thought
he would follow the stream and look for his cane, wig, and hat. /
His head being thicker than common, o'er-balanced the rest of his
fat; / And in plumped this son of a woman to follow his wig, cane,
and hat" (George Canning). (5) The figure is nothing but a string of
kavyahetu
kavyaheto, 'poetic cause': (1) same as smarmJa alatr/kara. (2) U 6.7.
(5) In the text, Udbhaia also calls this kavyalifiga; Mamma;a uses
the name kavyalifiga for another figure and calls this one smarmJa.
Kavyahetu is a jfiapaka hetu whose purpose is comparison.
causes enchainees.
kavyadr~t~nta
krama
Udbha;a has been reading Bhamaha:, where dr~liinta has its logical
connotation only.
kavyaliiiga
kavyaliiiga, 'poetic cause': (1) a figure in which a metaphorical relation
of cause and effect is expressed conventionally either as intention
or rationale. (2) M 174. (3) pralJayisakhfsalTlaparihiisarasiidhigatair
lalitasirf~apu~pahananair
(Mamma;a; the snbject phrase "may my arm fall" describes the conventional effect and riposte to the cause: the attack of the love god:
"My body suffets from the blows of gay siri~a flowers that you
stole from the mocking games of her dearest friends 1 You have
certainly shot these weapons in the hope of killing me. May my
defenceless arm fall for once on your head I"). (4) "When he saw
in their bright eyes the shadow of the registry office, he told them
that the memory of his one great love would always prevent him
from forming any permanent tie" (Somerset Mangham; the registry
office is the cause of the convenient memory). (5) There is little
ground for distinguishing this rather obscure figure from the ordinary
hetu (q. v.). The main structural argnment for the distinction is that
the canse is here specified as poetic; for hetu, snch a determination has
always been implicit. Yet the figure has been rejected by several
authors on the ground that it involves no element of vakr8kti,
metaphorical utterance. Mamma;a's kavyalifiga may represent no
citra
citra, 'glitter' (and du~kara, 'difficult', krft;!a, 'play'): (1) names used
variously by the different authors to cover four separate phenomena,
but grouped together because of their basis in pure word play. (2)
D 3.186, AP 343.22-31, R 5.1-33, M 4, 121. See also (5) and the
terms there defined. (5) After the triumph of the rasa-dhvanitheory,
the term citrakavya comes to be used for the third and lowest kind of
poetry, where mere verbal virtuosity precludes the expression of any
rasa.
(a) In the most obvious sense, "word play" refers to the composition of various puzzles and games, riddles and conundrums, and
the like. None of the authors, except perhaps the Agni PuralJa,
goes as far as calling this sort of thing poetry, but several treat of
it because of its obvious function of entertaining the same audience
176
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
for whom the poetry was destined and also because in some manner
it does demonstrate the virtuosity of the "poet" who wrote it. Dat;l<;lin
gives sixteen different types of conundrum in treating of prahelika.
The Agni PuraJ;la and Rudrata give approximately the same list
of six games, but the former calls them citra (the eighth sabdalall'kara of nine), and the latter kria, appending the topic to a discussion
of citra (types [b] and [c] below), a sabdalall'kara. In both treatments,
prahelika is but one of six games given, the others being cyUla,
guha (or gupta),prasna, and samasya (variously subdivided to make
six).
A more important category of word play, however, is the various
kinds of patterned verses, which probably have their origin in the
figure yamaka ('cadence'). Threitiypes can be distingnished, depending upon the principle of repetitiol1 involved. (b) Included here are
verses whicb, through a geometric~llimitation of the sequence of
their syllables, can be read in more'thall one way to give the same
meaning. The most transparent example is the palindrome (pratilomanuloma), which specifies that the sequence of syllables be the
same when read backwards. But the Indian authors have been
ingenious in inventing other principles of total repetition, such as
'hop-scotch' (anulomaviloma), 'zig-zag' (gomutrika), 'criss-cross'
(muraja), 'double palindrome' (sarvatobhadra), 'elephant-walk'
(gajapada), and 'knight-at-chess' (turagapada). The geometric 'carttrack' (rathapada) is two palindromes separated by non-geometrical
sequences and could be taken as an example of the next type. No
specific name has been given to these geometrics. Dat;l<;lin treats
them as an extellsion of yamaka, along with (d), following in what
he calls du~kara. The Agni PuraJ;la may intend this type by its category vikalpa du~kara, but some examples of it (sarvatobhadra) are
included in bandha du~kara (c). Rudrala and Mammata treat both
this and the next type (c) under the category citra, though Rudrata
does not mix the examples indiscriminately, which perhaps implies
that he was aware of a difference of principle.
(c) When the principle of limitation is not applied to the entire
sequence of syllables, but requires repetition only of certain strategically placed syllables in terms of which the whole verse can be arranged in imitation of natural objects, we have a type of word play
most commonly known by tbe name bandha (Agni PuraJ;la, Mammata); examples are: khaga ('sword'), cakra ('wheel'), dhanu
('bow'), padma ('lotJls'), musala ('pestle'), sara ('arrow'), sakti
177
;,'
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Our incompassible sufferings are from fear of you alone !") (4) The
form is:
ABC D E F G H
BIJKLMNG
CJOPQRMF
D K PST Q L E
(5) Reading as a helix, that is, downwards on the first column,
upwards on the eighth, then downwards on the second and upwards
on the seventh, and so on, gives exactly the same sequence of syllables
as reading from left to right in the normal way. Compare sarvatobhadra, where the verse can be read backwards and forwards as well.
kiirakagii4ha, 'concealment of the subject': (I) a grammatical riddle in
which the subject at first reading is concealed by a false salfldhi, but
which another reading (dividing the words differently) reveals.
(2) R 5.26 (30). (3) pibato viiri taviisyiilfl sariti sariiveQa piit/tau kena
(Rudraia; piititau has no subject, but by reading sariiveQa 'with a
dish' as sariiv eQa, 'arrows, 0 antelope', the subject is supplied;
"While drinking water in this stream with a dish, by whom have been
shot at you?"). (4) Read the example under kriyiigi1(1ha on "Why did
the raise her bilt(razorbill) raise her bill?" (Oliver Onions; deformed
for our purpose here). (5) Rudraia lists six games (krf(1a) of which
this is one; cf kriyiigi1(1ha.
kriyiigii4ba, 'concealment of the verb': (I) a grammatical puzzle in
which the verb at first reading is concealed by salfldhi. (2) R 5.26
(30). (3) viiri siSiralfl ramaQYo ratikhediid apuru$asyeva (Rudrata;
ramaQYo, 'ladies' requires a verb; by reading apuru$asyeva, 'as though
of a non-man' as apur U$asy eva, 'drank only at dawn', it is supplied:
"The ladies, exhausted from passion, the cool water as though of ,a
non-man"). (4) "Why did the razorbill razorbill?" "So the seaurchin could sea-urchin" (Oliver Onions). (5) See kiirakagi1(1ha.
kri4ii, 'play': (I) puzzles or conundrums. (2) R 5.24. (5) A cover term
for six games: miitracyuta, binducyuta, prahelikii, kiirakagi1(1ha,
kriyiigi1(1ha, and prasnottara. Rudrata distinguishes these six from
citra, which are syllable arrangements and legitimate fignres (cj:
pratilomanuloma), by calling them "merely playful"; that is, they
serve no function of embellishment and are not poetic. But Rudrata,
following DaJ:\qin, treats of them presumably because they please
and divert the same sophisticated audience for which the poetry
was intended. The six games are wider in scope than our conundrums, which term could usefully translate the third type, prahelikii;
178
179
180
types one and two depend on altering the written verse in a systematic way, types four and five on false smpdhi, and six is a question
which answers itself.
khatlga, 'sword': (I) a verse or pair of verses whose syllables can be
arranged, in terms of certain repetitions, in the visual form of a
sword. (2) R 5.2 (6, 7), M 121. (3) mlirarisakrarlim6bhamukhair
lislirarmphasli / slirarabdhastavli nityall' tadartihara~ak$amli / mlitli
natlinlill' sall'ghattab sriylill' biidhitasall'bhramli / mlinyatha simli
rlimli~lill' sail' me disylid umadijli (Rudrata: "May Uma, the first
born, show me favor-she who is praised most excellently and with the
violence of a cloudburst by Siva, Indra, Rama, and GaJ;l8sa, and
who is able to remove their su!j"erings, mother of the devoted and
collection of bounties, who cancels error, and who serves as the
honorable model of women"). (4) T(1e reader is referred to the appendix of Rudrata's text, where he wil~/)inH the "picture" which this
verse defines. (5) Such picture verses, generally referred to as bandha
('ligature', 'bond'), are first mentioned in the Agni Purli~a and constitute probably the most original and indeed the most curious
contribution of that text to poetics. The tantric symbolism of these
verse arrangements is evident, but their actual function is not so.
Some late writers, like Magha, employ them, but it is clear that they
have no other purpose than to demonstrate the virtuosity of the
author. One chapter (the nineteenth) of the SiSuplilavadha contains
a great number of these devices, and one may wonder if there is
not some relation between the virtuosity so demonstrated and the
concurrently rendered climax of the poem: the fight between
Klwa and Sisup~la.
gajapadapiitha, 'elephant-gait-version': (I) a verse which, when each of
its four plidas is placed on a separate line, can be read either by vertical
pairs of syllables from left to right, or in the normal way. This
horizontal movement of two syllables at once is likened to the gait
of the elephant, whose two legs are always in unison. (2) R 5.2
(16). (3):
ye nli nli dhi nli vii dhi rli
nli dhi vii rli dhi rli rli jan
kill' nli nli sail' nli kall' sail' te
nli sali kan te'sall' te te jab
Rudrata
("Those of your courtiers, 0 King, who preserve the force of
various epithets, are powerful, who eradicate obstacles and who do
181
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
A B B
B
C
E
B
C
D C E
E E F
(5) The same syllable sequence is obtained by reading the left vertical
pair from top to bottom, then the second vertical pair, and so on.
gupta, 'hidden': (I) probably the same as (klirakakriyli) gur;lha. (2) AP
343.22 (26). (5) As always with the Agni Purli~a, no examples are
given, but the context suggests that Rudrata's two krir;lli are meant.
gomiitrika, 'cow piss': (I) a verse the syllables of whose constituent
plidas, when placed on separate lines, can be read either by zig-zagging from one line to the other, or in the regular way. (2) D 3.78-79,
AP 343.36-38. (3):
("Should the love-power of drunken-eyed women, armed with sidelong glances, conquer me-if this my sin should finally be destroyed,
I would give thanks to the Love God".) (4) The form is:
ABC D
AI
CJ
E F G H
EKGL
182
GLOSSARY
("I praise the army whose leader is mighty in play, which is devoted
-I, who am not acquainted with untruth, whose men are mounted
in carts and keep together in various rows, who does not perpetrate
meaningless deeds for his dependents, who has generals who assume
the leadership of happy men, who has men of several sorts and no
fools". (4) The form is':
GLOSSARY
183
5
2
6
8
4
10
3
II
7
9
(5) This amounts to the famous puzzle of moving the knight so
that it touches every square only once. I am indebted to V. Raghavan
for suggesting the nature of the solution. It is beyond my powers
to complete it.
dal;tIJa, 'stick': (I) probably the same as kha4ga. (2) AP 343.37,55. (5)
No example.
datta, 'given': (I) probably a group of conundrums which function by
adding certain significant parts of the written Sanskrit sentence, as
vowel indictors, nasal vowel marks (anusviira), final aspiration
(visarga), and perhaps consonants. (2) AP 343.22, 29. (4) "But the
old fellow feels a slight dissatisfaction / With the uninspiring process
of pure subtraction. / The evidence would indicate he's taken as his
mission / The improvement of the road signs by the process of
addition. / Thus 'Traffic Light Ahead' / Becomes 'Traffic Slight
Ahead' / And 'Gas and Oi!' / Is improved to 'Gasp and Boil .. .'''
(Morris Bishop)., (5) No Sanskrit examples are given, but the context
permits a comparison with cyuta and leads to the inference that
datta is the reverse of this. Like cyuta, the games depend on the
fact that the short vowel "a" is inherent in every syllable, and that
graphically other vowels and vowel aspects are superscripts to that
simple vowel. The second type, "consonantal" datta, presents mOre
of a problem, but may refer to adding parts of ligatures, as "r"
which is an obvious superscript.
du~kara, 'difficult to accomplish': (I) a general name for various types of
picture verses and geometric verses. (2) D 3.78, 83, AP 342.20,
343.32. (5) In general, dU$kara is distinguished from puzzles and
conundrums, which Daw;lin includes in prahelikii and the Agni
Purii/Ja calls citra. DU$kara then refers to those extensions of yamaka
in which the principle of repetition is not linear, or in which the
limitation on occurrence applies only to certain letters (e.g., one
vowel or consonant) or to certain places in the verse (picture verses).
These two types are clearly delimited by DaI;lc;lin (reference cited),
who does not recognize any pictorial verses. (His gomutrika may
provide the key to the explanation of the origin of these latter: for
DaI;lc;lin, the zig-zag is clearly a geometrical verse with a graphic
name; it may have encouraged others, more literal minded, to
184
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
185
bha forms the center of the lotus. The two syllables following or
preceding bha constitute the "petals". The "center" recurs after
every two "petals". One begins with bha, reads out along the first
petal and back along the second to the center, then out along the
third, back along the four:!h, and so on, until one reaches the last
petal, which should be the inverse of the first (here bhasale and Ie
sabha) and lead back to the center. In the present example, the petals
at the end of each pada and the beginning of the next are also inversions.
pratilomanuloma, 'against the grain, with the grain': (1) a type of word
play in which the syllables of a second half verse repeat in exact
inverse order those of the first half verse. (2) AP 343.34-35, R 5.3
(17). (3) veddpanne sa sakle racilanijarugucchedayalne'ramere
devdsakle'mudak~o
"They are not tw(',::nverlords who prosper there, they are prosperity
and beanty, shame and fame, wisdom and polity, celebrity and
pleasure"; the last two examples are unclear). (5) One well-known
example from literature of this virtuosity is the seventh chapter of
The Ten Princes (also by Dal)<}in) where no labials at all are employed,
on the pretext that the narrator has wounded his lips in love-making.
See (5) under du~kara, of which this is the first type.
padma, 'lotus': (1) a verse whose syllables can, in terms of certain significant repetitions, be arranged in the visual form of a lotus. (2)
R 5.21, M 121. (3) bhasale pralibhasara rasdbhaldhaldvibha /
bhavi/dlma subha vade devdbha vala Ie sabha (Mammata: "0 essence
of glory! your council is indeed brilliant, beautified by the eight
moods, of unbeatable beauty, in which is revealed the ultimate soul
of justice, clever in dispute, and similar to God"). (5) The syllable
kalhaya me mrgaydsu / kalhaydnindraya lalha kirp karavaVi kvavitakama/; / ahivavakamaladaldrUiJiva mavu phurattiva keva / javijjai
laruvfavassa niddha bhava aharel)a (Rudrata; the third question is
of course in Prakrit. Ahareva is the answer to all three: 'day' (ahar)
and 'night' (eva), 'stupid' (ahare) 'make noise' ('na, sarpdhi for ava),
'by her lower lip' (adhareva: "dh" becomes "h" in most Prakrits):
187
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
"What does the sun make when he rises? Tell me quickly, spy it
out! Say, stupid, what should I do if I want to be loud? How do
you tell when a girl is angry?"). (4) "What is that which will make
you catch cold-cure the cold-and pay the doctor's bills?" (Robert
Merry; answer: a draft).
bandha, 'delimitation': (I) the generic term for those verses which can be
arranged, in terms of certain significant repeated syllables, in the
visual form of natural objects, as swords, wheels, axes, etc. (2)
AP 343.33 (35-65), M 121. (3) ,(4) See sara, cakra, muraja, etc.
(5) For both Rudrala and Mammala, pictorial verses represent
citra par excellence; the older name of the Agni Purii/Ja is retained
only as a part of the name of e~Sl1 type, as kharjgabandha. In the
Agni Purii/Ja, moreover, bandhG'is one of three types of dU$kara
and is distinguished from citra, this last being a general name for
conundrums, puzzles, and the like),'ost probably this type of
verse with obvious magical connotanonsgrew out of the older
geometrically arranged verses (palindromes, etc.), which are prominent in DaJ,lgin. The bridge may have been the geometric gomillrika
('cow piss')-in DaJ,lgin simply a vivid name for a verse which can
be read in a zig-zag fashion. The Agni Purii/Ja significantly groups
gomutrika in bandha verses.
The only instance I know in English of a verse that is what it
means is: "Yet this I Prophesie; Thou shalt be seen, / (Tho' with
some short Parenthesis between:) / High on the Throne of Wit"
(John Dryden).
binducyuta, 'dropping the anuswira': (I) a type of word play in which
one phrase, by dfbpping a nasal phoneme, is transformed into
another phrase with another meaning. (2) R 5.25 (28). (3) kiinto
nayanfinandi batendu1;z khe na bhavati sadii (Rudrata: "The lovdy
young moon, delightful to see, is not always in the sky". By dropping
a nasal, we get "bale du1;zkhena" or "The lovely moon, delightful to
see, young girl, is always accompanied by sadness"). (5) See cyula.
Rudrala gives examples for only two of the Agni Purii/Ja's four types:
this one and miitracyula.
mlitracyuta, 'dropping the vowel sign': (I) a type of word play in which
one phrase, by dropping the graphic syllabic modification indicating
a vowel phoneme, is transformed into another phrase with another
meaning. (2) R 5.25 (28). (3) niyatam agamyam adrsyaJTl bhavali
kile trasyato ra/Jopiintam (Rudrala: "In truth, for the fearful the
environs of battle are"unapproachable and their sight canuot be
186
Rudrala, Mammala
("The autumn is full of the sounds of undulating armies of bees,
thick and long; dense with geese; where kings are quick and iimala
fruits are plentiful".) (5) The first and last lines can be read also on
the four-syllable diagonals up and down, beginning and ending
with the same syllables as the lines. The two internal lines must be
taken in halves, bnt the same principle applies.
mnsala, 'pestle':, (1) a verse whose syllables can be arranged, in terms
of certain significant repetitions, in the visual form of a pestle. (2)
R 5.2 (8). (3) miiyiivinaJTl mahiihiivii rasiiyiitaJTl lasadbhujii / jiilali/iiyathiisiiraviicaJTl mahi$am iivadhi1;z (Rudrala: "You, 0 mother, of
great blandishments and gleaming arms, in whom joy is fulfilled,
you have slain the buffalo demon, hiding in deceit, puffed up with
pride, whose words did not correspond to the truth"). (4) See the
appendix to Rudrala for the picture that this forms. (5) No mortar,
oddly enough.
ratbapada, 'cart path': (1) a verse wherein the two even or the two odd
piidas (but not both) are palindromes, thus producing the appearance
of a cart track. (2) R 5.2 (14). (3):
itik$itii suraiS cakre
yii yamiimamamiiyayii
mahi$aJTl piitu vo gauri
siiyatiisisitiiyasii
Rudrala
("Thus observed by the Gods, may Gauri, who without guile sent
the buffalo demon to the nether world, Gaud, who has slain those
demons who have destroyed property with their long arrows-may
she protect you I") (4) The form of the second and fourth lines is:
189
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
is diety to the world's high rulers, she who is obedient to Siva and
fulfilled witb all success, she who is praised by all"). (4) See the
appendix to Rudrata for the picture that this forms. (5) The first
half Sloka constitutes the shaft; six syllables suffice for the three
prongs by reading forwards and backwards, each time adding the
final syllable of the first half.
samasyii, 'union': (I) a verbal game which consists in discovering the
words of one verse which have been hidden systematically in a
much larger verse. (2) AP 343.23, 31. (5) No examples are given,
but the puzzle is well known, at least as far as the letters of a word
are concerned, by the name "acrostic"; for example: "Dread monster,
ruthless foe I Ever travelling to and fro I And causing tears of grief to
flow, I The good, the loved, and those that be I Hale and strong,
mnst yield to thee" (Robert Blackwell).
sarvatobbadra, 'auspicious in all ways': (I) a verse, having the same
number of lines as syllables, which can be read backwards and
forwards both vertically and horizontally. (2) D 3.80 (82), AP 343.41,
R 5.3 (20), M 121. (3) slimliylimlimliyli mlisli mlirlinliylinlirlimli I
yiiniiviiriiriiviiniiyii maya rlima miiriiytima (DalJ-\lin; this verse is. also
deemed to make .sense when read backwards: by putting these two
verses together on eight lines of one plida each, the same double
verse can be read backwards or forwards along the horizontals, or
backwards or forwards along the verticals: "This lovely young lady,
an extension of the fever of Love, a union of devices for inducing
love, a snare made of the tinkling of her anklets, whose beauty is
sorcery, is destined quickly to be the death of me, along with the
moon"). (5) Cf ardhabhrama, which is conceived as a half verse which
can be so arranged.
spa~tapraccbannartba, 'whose hidden meaning becomes clear': (I) same
as ubhayacchanna prahelikli. (2) R 5.25 (29). (5) See prahelikli and
188
vylihrttirtha.
191
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
chaya
tadgtIIJa
tadgUl)a, 'having that thing's attribute': (1) a figure in which one thing is
said to assume the quality or property of another thing, from
which thereby it is made difficult to distinguish. (2) R 9.22-25. (3)
190
navadhautadhavalavasanas candrikaya sandraya tirogamita/;l / ramanabhavanany asaiikafll sarpanty abhisarlka!) sapadi (Rudra,a: "Hidden
(mat/okti).
chekanuprasa
chekauuprasa, 'clever alliteration': (1) same as cheka, a type of anuprasa.
(2) U 1.3 (5). (5) Chekdnuprasa is considered by Udbha,a to be an
alafllkara separate from anuprasa strictly speaking.
jlia.
jati, 'genus': (1) same as svabhavokti.
R 7.30 (31-33).
tattva
tattva, 'reality': (1) an arthaSle~a in which puns, in appearance descriptive
"djectival qualifications of the subject, involve a second meaning as
predicate nouns which mernphorize the subject. (2) R 10.20 (21).
atadgwJa.
tolyayogita
tolyayogita, 'equal joining': (1) a figure in which several subjects sharing
a property or mode of action, though in unequal degrees, are represented as equivalently endowed; the lesser subject is thus magnified. (2) B 3.26 (27), D 2.330 (331-32), V 4.3.26, U 5.7, M 158. (3)
seso himagiris tvafll ca mahanto gurava!) sthira!) / yad alaiighitamaryadM calantim bibhrtha k~itim (Bhiimaha: "The primeval serpent,
the Himalaya and you, 0 King, are weighty "nd firm; you three,
surpassing all limitation, support the unstable world"). (4) " ... he
had the harmlessness of the serpent and the wisdom of the dove"
(Samuel Butler). (5) Tulyayogita functions as a comparison, but
the common property is predicated of the subject and object jointly.
Da!!4in also gives a type of upama based upon the conjunction of
evident unequals. This figure can be subdivided as to its purpose
192
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
193
body; the concatenated terms share the opposite property and stand
as objects of comparison: "Who would not think the malati flower,
the crescent moon, or the plantain tree harsh and rough when he
had seen the softness of your body?"). (4) "The soundproof walls
shut out all noise from the street, and, in the hushed atmosphere
common to art galleries, cathe'ilrals, and banks, Max's melodious
drawl sounded less out of place ..." (Margery Allingham). (5) In
aprastiivabhiij, the concatenated tepllsare the topical subjects of
the utterance. The term appearsiri Mammala as apriikaraQika
(with the same meaning).
apriikaral}ika, 'not relating to the subject': (1) same as aprastiivabhiij. (2)
M 158C.
nioda, 'blame: (1) a type of tulyayogitiiwnich has blame or depreciation
for its purpose. (2) D 2.330 (332). (3) sangatiini mrgiik$iQiil[l
(5) Cf nindii.
dipaka
dipaka, 'enlightener': (I) a construction wherein several parallel phrases
are each completed by a single (unrepeated) word or phrase; zeugma.
(2) NS 16.40, 53-55, B 2.25-29, D 2.97-115, V 4.3.18-19, V 1.14, R
7.64-71, M 156-57. (3) sariil[lsi hal[lsail; kusumais ca vrk$iil; mattair
dvirephalS ca saroruhiiQi / gO$(hibhlr udyiinavaniini caiva tasmlnn
asunyiini sadii kriyante (Bharata: "In this city, the ponds are filled
with swans, the trees with flowers, the lotuses with drunken bees,
and the pleasure-groves with elite parties"). (4) "All things uncomely
and broken, all things worn out and old, / The cry of a child by the
roadway, the creak of a lumbering cart, / The heavy steps of the
ploughman, splashing the wintry mould, / Are wronging your image
that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart" (W. B. Yeats), (5)
Zeugma is one of the universal devices of any stylized literary mode
and is one of the four original figures of speech recoguized by
Bharata. The name dipaka (from dip-, 'shine'), which has been
translated as 'enlightener' or 'illuminator', is a more vivid formulation of the subjective effect of this alal[lkiira than is the static zeugma
('yoke'), which describes only the grammatical appearance or form
of the figure. The word which ties together the various phrases by
being at once a grammatical part of them all illuminates the entire
phrase, or at least those parts of it which require that word in order
to be understood. By multiplying the phrases dependent on the
zeugma, the effect of illumination in increased. The effect may be
compared to the Latin or German sentence in which the English
speaker waits breathlessly for the verb. The figure zeugma has been
classified in two ways by the Indian theorists: as to the place of the
common word in the total construction, and by the grammatical
role which the common word plays in the construction. The two
194
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
modes are not exclusive, and several authors employ both. First
of all, the shared word may occur at the beginning (iidi), in the middle
(madhya), or at the end (anta) of the total construction. These words
are usually interpreted to mean first, interior, or fourth quarters of
the verse and not absolute first or last position in the verse (see,
madhya dipaka). It is interesting in this connection to compare the
renaissance classification of zeugma into prozeugma, mesozeugma,
and hypozeugma (Taylor, p. 132-33). All the writers except Bharata
and Mammata reproduce this extrinsic triad, and it may represent
the oldest view on the figure. Dal).<)in, however, proposes a fourfold
division by part of speech, in line with his several other uses of the
same discrimination (ef. svabhiiv,IJ1!:ti, vyatireka, viSe$fJkti): the word
shared by the several phrases may be either an adjective (gu~a), a
verb (kriyii), a generic noun Uiiti), or an proper name (dravya).
Dal).gin does not abandon the thre~(9Id division, so his treatment
may be said to produce a twelvefold zeugma. This classification by
grammatical role is unknown only in the two earliest writers, Bharata
and Bhamaha. Since the encyclopaedist Mammata uses it exclusively, we may presume that the ,older threefold division was
no longer felt to be adequately diagnostic. However, the later
writers simplify Dal).<)in's four grammatical parts of speech into
two-kriyii, 'verb' and kiiraka or kartr, 'noun' (see kriyii dipaka)-and
Vamana accepts only kriyii as legitimate.
It should be remarked that the word "zeugma" is more commonly
applied in English rhetoric to a defect of construction whereby a
single word is related to two (or more) in such a way that the
construction is not the same for the two (for example: "She came in
a flood of tears and a bath chair", where "in" is used both modally
and locatively). This is a special case of the more general fignre,
but in usage the two must not be confounded, as no defect is intended
in our use of zeugma.
Oddly enough, the Agni Purii~a, which represents an independent
siil(lkhya-oriented poetic tradition, ignores the figure dipaka. This is
doubly curious, as that text in no way minimizes verbal figures-as
opposed to fignres founded on meaning (tropes)-and in view of
the fact that dipaka is one of the four fignres known to Bharata
(with upamii, riipaka, and yamaka).
anta, 'final': (I) a type of zeugma in which the grammatical element
shared by the several phrases occurs at the end of the entire construction. (2) B 2.25 (29)/D 2.102 (104-105), V 4.3.19, U 1.14, R 7.65
utka~thante
195
navapari~ayii
long when their lovers are far, are shy when they are present, in
bed are trembling and afraid-the newly-wed women"). (4) "The
new moon behind her head, an old hehnet upon it, a diadem of
accidental dewdrops round her brow, would have been adjuncts
sufficient to strike the note of Artemis, Athena, Or Hera" (Thomas
Hardy). (5) The examples also show kiiraka dipaka and kriyii. See
tidi, madhya.
lidi, 'initial': (1) a type of zeugma in which the grammatical element
shared by the several phrases occurs at the beginning of the entire
construction. (2) B 2.25 (27), D 2.102 (98-101), V 4.3.19, U 1.14,
R 7.65 (66,69). (3) nidriipaharati jiigaram upasamayati madanadahanasal(ltiipam / janayati kiintiisal(lgamasukhal(l ea ko'nyas tato
bandhub (Rudrata: "Sleep steals wakefulness away, calms the burning passions of love, excites the pleasure of meeting the beloved;
what else can be compared to it?"). (4) "Mrs. Pascoe stood at the
gate looking after them; stood at the gate until the trap was round
the corner; stood at the gate, looking now to the right, now to the
left; then went back to her cottage" (Virginia Woolf). (5) Both
examples also illustrate kiiraka dipaka (or dravya).
eklirtha, 'integral': (1) a type of zeugma in which the tenor of the several
conjoined phrases is complimentary. (2) D 2.112 (Ill). (3) haraty
iibhogam iisiiniil(l grh~iiti jyoti$iil(l ga~am / tidatte eiidya me prii~iin
asau jaladhariivali (Dal).gin: "The garland of rain clouds fills up the
expanse of the sky, sequesters the flock of stars, and steals away
my hopes"). (4) "A coyote sings more sweetly to me than any bird.
He pushes the horizon back with his voice. He makes a gift of
space. He says that something is still hidden. He reports escape.
He acknowledges himself. He celebrates survival" (Jessamyn West).
(5) Compare viruddhiirtha dipaka, where the tenor of the conjoined
phrases is contradictory or contrary, and also Sie$a dipaka, where the
phrases are neither contrary nor complimentary, but merely punned.
The Sanskrit example also illustrates anta dipaka and jiiti dipaka, the
English, iidi and jiiti.
kiiraka, 'nominal': (1) a type of zeugma in which the word common
to the several phrases is a noun, usually the subject of the entire
construction. (2) R 7.64 (69-71), M 156. (3) sral(lsayati giitram
akhilal(l glapayati eeto nikiimam anuriigab / janam asulabhal(l prati
sakhe prii~iin api mafik$u mU$~iiti (Rudrata: "Passion exhausts the
196
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
body and makes the mind languid, but friend, when the loved one
is unattainable, it quickly steals one's life away"). (4) "No profane
hand shall dare, for me, to curtail my Chaucer, to Bowdlerize my
Shakespeare, or mutilate my Milton" (Anon., quoted in Burton
Stevenson). (5) This item covers two of Daw;lin's four types: jati
and dravya. The Sanskrit example also illustrates madhya dipaka,
the English, adi. Also called kartr ('agenf).
kriyii, 'verbal': (1) a type of zeugma in which the word common to the
several phrases is a verb. (2) D 2.97 (99, 104), V 4.3.18, U 1.14,
ranks of rain clouds, the earth with sweet shoots of new grass").
(4) "Beautiful lofty things: O'Leary's noble head" / My father upon
the Abbey stage, before him a raging crowd / ... Standish O'Grady
supporting himself between the tables / Speaking to a drunken
197
where the wealth and fortune of the Danavas were taken by Vi~l).u
victorious, from somewhere the success and prosperity of the Gods
were brought"). (4) "Old Professor Huxtable, performing with the
method of a clock his change of dress, let himself down into his
chair; filled his pipe; chose his paper; crossed his feet; and extracated
his glasses" (Virginia Woolf). (5) Both examples also illustrate tidi
dipaka. Cf jati, where a generic term occupies the common slot.
madhya, 'mid': (I) a type of zeugma in which the grammatical element
shared by the various phrases occurs in the middle of the entire
construction. (2) B 2.25 (28), D 2.102 (103-104), V 4.3.19, U 1.14,
R 7.65 (67, 70). (3) sraf(lsayati gatram akhilaf(l glapayati eeto
nikamam anuragal;z / janam asulabhaf(l prati sakhe praQan api mafik$u
mU$Qati (Rudrata: for the translation, see karaka). (4) "Her
198
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
199
(DaJ;lgin: "The waxing phase makes for the prosperity of the whiterayed moon, the moon, of the Love God, he, of passion, passion, for
youths' happiness in festival ?flove"). (4)" ... while [the Wise
Youth] remained tranquil on his solid unambitious ground, fitting
his morality to the laws, his consci'ince to his morality, his comfort
to his conscience" (George Meredit~) .. (5) Both examples also show
tidi dipaka, in the sense noted under madhya (5). Various figures
illustrate this enchainement of ideas: notably upama, riipaka, and
nidarsana. See also the fignres kartItlamala and ekilvali, to which
mala dipaka seems merely the added ~pplication of a zengma.
viruddhartba, 'disparate': (I) a type of zeugma in which the tenor of
the several conjoined phrases is contrary or contradictory. (2)
D 2.110 (109). (3) avalepam anaiigasya vardhayanti balahakab /
karsayanti tu gharmasya marutfiddhataslkarab (DaJ;lgin: "The rain
clouds increase the arrogance of the Love God, but diminish the
summer's heat-their showers blown about by the wind"). (4) "Bnt
in sooth Mr. Slope was pursuing Mrs. Bold in obedience to his better
instincts, and the.. signora in obedience to his worser" (Anthony
Trollope). (5) See ekartha dlpaka, in which the partial phrases are
complimentary, that is, express compatible ideas.
sli~ta, 'punned': (I) a type of zeugma in which the related phrases not
only share a common word, but have appended puns expressing
similarity. (2) D 2.114 (113). (3) hrdyagandhavahas tuiigas tamalasyamalatvi~ab / divi bhramantijlmiita bhuvi caite mataiigajab (DaJ;lgin:
"Carrying pleasant odors, lofty, hides as dark as the tamala flower,
the clouds roam in the sky, here on earth, elephants"). (4) "As lines
so loves oblique may well / Themselves at every Angle greet: / But
ours so truly Parallel, / Though infinite can never meet" (Andrew
Marvell). (5) This should be compared with mala dipaka, where the
relation between the various phrases is based upon a real implication
of meanings. The puris have nothing to do with the zeugma, but
d!"'itanta
dr~tanta, 'example': (I) the adjunction of a second situation which bears
upon the same point as the first and where the purpose is entirely
one of illustration. (2) U 6.8, R 8.94 (95-96), M 155. (3) ki1'[lciltra
bahunfiktena vraja bhartaram apnuhi / udanvantam anasadya mahanadyab kim asate (Udbhata: "What's the point of talking further?
Go out and get yonrself a husband! What fate will befall the great
rivers if they do not fall into the ocean?"). (4) "Have you not in
a Chimney seen / A sullen faggot, wet and green, / How coyly it
receives the heat/ And at both ends does fume and sweat? ISo fares
it with the harmless Maid / Whenfirst upon her Back she's laid; /
But the kind experienced Dame / Cracks, and rejoices in the flame"
(John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester). (5) The relationship is here between
two specific situations, and the purpose of the rapprochement is
clarification. That is why a rigorous parallelism of element and
aspect is required. InprativastiJpama alarpkara, one Common property
is shared; the terms themselves need not be comparable. Note in
Wilmot's example the duplication which borders on double-entendre:
"sullen ... coyly ... heat ... fume", etc. Likewise, the intention ofthe
speaker is not necessarily substantiation (where a doubt might arise),
and in this dr~tdnta differs from arthdntaranyasa, even though there
is a general tendency to consider the latter a relation between two
remarks-a specific and its corresponding universal-which is more
an explanation of the process of explanation than a condition of the
relation between two terms which do clarify one another (c/.
DaJ;lgin's example for; virodhavat arthdntaranyasa). Both are illustrations, but the word "illustration" is equivocal. All these figures
(especially vakyilrtha upama) differ from simile in that the comparative
particle is lacking; but aside from this, all can be and usually are
described in the same terms (subject, object, common property or
200
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
201
vyatireka.
nidarSanii
nidarsanii (I) (neuter in Dal)<;Iin and Vamana), 'pointing to': (I) a fignre
in which a particular situation is translated into a general truth, and
a moral is drawn which is based upon the mode of action and the
ultimate tendency of that situation. (2) B 3.32 (33), D 2.348 (349-50),
V 4.3.20, M 150. (3) aya/?1 mandadyutir bhiisvtin asta/?1 prati yiytisati /
udaya/z patantiyiiti srfmato bodhayan nartin (Bhamaha: "The dull
red sun nears the western term, telling the wise that greatness is
but the precedent of decline"). (4) "Poor HALL caught his death
standing under a spout, / Expecting till midnight when NAN would
come out, / But fatal his patience, as cruel the Dame, / And curst
was the Weather that quench'd the man's flame. / 'Who e'er thou art,
that read'st these moral lines, / Make love at home, and go to bed
betimes'" (Matthew Prior). (5) This figure differs from arthfintaranyiisa in that the general truth is here expressed as the very meaning
of the particular situation, not as another and more valid formulation of it. Some writers (Dal)<;Iin, Vamana) define the figure as a
relation of two situations through a similar consequence: moral
instruction in terms of the final cause. The second situation is seen
not as extrinsic to the first, maintaining a relation of similitude to it,
but it is, as it were, a universalization of the same idea. This viewpoint gives a rationale for the transition to the second type, described
first by Mammata, which, in the modern writers (Candrfiloka),
snpplants the other.
202
203
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
204
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
205
parisa!pkhya
parisa!pkhyii, 'delimitation': (I) an alaJ!lkiira identical with niyamavat
sle$a. (2) R 7.79, M 185. (5) The name most generally means
'enumeration', but the logicians use the term in a special sense:
'exhaustive enumeration'; hence the application here, where a
series of ideas are limited to special senses through an enumeration
based upon mention of those limitations.
duram (Daw}in: "Striking blows with your sword, 0 King, your arm
has seized the long possessed and lotus-pale glory of this earth's
princes"). (4) '''By whose direction found'st thou out this placeT
'By love, that first did prompt me to enquire. He lent me counsel,
and I lent him eyes'" (Shakespeare). (5) The idea that one action
entails both an acqnisition and a loss is central to all the varieties of
parivrtti mentioned by our authors. The differentiating criteria are
extrinsic to the notion of exchange and concern only the things
exchanged; they may be similar or dissimilar (Vamana); if dissimilar,
better for worse or worse for better (Mammata, Udbhata); the exchange may be anspicious or inauspicious (Udbhata), literal or
figurative (Rudrata). Only Bh~waha, the earliest of the writers,
diverges in any way from this sterile mechanism by asserting that
the exchange must be seconded by dr.awing a moral (arthilntaranyiisa,
q.v.), as: ''pradiiya vittam arthibhya!Jsq.yasbdhanam Mita / saliiJ!l viSvajanfniiniim idam askhalitaJ!l vratam" ('GiviIigwealth to all who ask, he
obtains a treasure of glory: such is the inescapable duty of the just').
nyiina, 'deficient': (I) a type of parivrtti in which the item exchanged is
inferior in quality or station to the .item acquired. (2) U 5.16,
M Inc. (3) netriJragavalabhriimyan mandartidrisirascyutai!J / ratnair
iipurya dugdhfibdhiJ!l ya!J samiidatta kaustubham (Udbhata; Vi~l).u
is referred to: "He filled up the sea of milk with jewels fallen from
the primeval mountain top where he wandered in the Snake King's
caves; then he took from the sea a magic jewel of inestimable price").
(4) "Seeing my flesh must die so soon, / And want a head to dine
next noon,- / Ju.st at the stroke, when my veins start and spread, /
Set on my soul atn,verlasting head" (Sir Walter Raleigh; in expectation of his execution).
visi~ta, 'qualified': (I) a type of parivrtti in which the item exchanged is
superior in quality or station to the item acquired. (2) U 5.16,
M Inc. (3) latiis tv adhvanyiiniim ahaha drsam iidiiya sahasii dadaty
iidhivyiidhibhramiruditamohavyatikaram (Mammata; the wanderers
are reminded of their distant loves: "The lovely creepers steal the
sight of wanderers and give back pain, suffering, loss, sobbing, and
confusion"). (4) "Even such is Time, that takes in trust / Our youth,
our joys, all we have, / And pays us but with age and dust" (Sir
Walter Raleigh).
sarna, 'equal': (I) a type of parivrtti in which the item exchanged and the
item acquired are similar or of equal value. (2) U 5.16, V 4.3.16,
M Inc. (3) (4) See parivrtti.
paryiiya
paryiiya (1), 'synonym': (1) same as aprastutaprasaJ!lsii II. (2) R 7..42
(43). (5) This term evidently snppletes the otherwise absent
figure aprastutaprasaJ!lsa in Rudrata. The definition alone could be
inter.rreted as the figure paryiiyiJkta, also absent in Rudrata. It is
the inverse of bhiiva II.
paryiiya (II): (I) same as viSe$a II. (2) R 7.44 (45-46), M 180-81. (5) A
single thing is represented in several contexts, or several things in
one context. The unique thing is generally a state of soul, such as
happiness or valor, and the poetic force of the figure is presumably a
function of a figurative denial of the law of the excluded middle.
There is no obvious relation to the figure paryiiyiJkta or to the other
variety ofparyiiya given by Rudrata. Mammata accepts bothparyiiya
in sense two and paryiiyiJkta, establishing them as separate figures.
paryiiyokta
paryiiyokta, 'periphrasis': (I) a figure in which a speaker conveys his
intention without reference to the evident motive which prompts
his utterance; oblique reference. (2) B 3.8-9, D 2.295-97, U 4.6,
AP 345.18, M 175. (3) dasaty asau sahakiirasya manjarfm / tam
ahaJ!l viirayi$yiimi yuviibhyiiJ!l svairam iisyatiim (Dal).<:lin: "The
cuckoo is eating the mango blooms; I'll go shoo him off. You two
sit down here in peace"). (4) '''I should like that very much. Where
shall we go l' I reflected a moment and answered, 'I hardly like to
suggest a public bar, but I notice the Eagle is close by, and though
it is but a primitive place with a small bar and very hard chairs, it
is a free house. The beer is said to be drinkable'. 'The only difficulty
is that I am forbidden by my doctor to drink beer'. 'I understand
that the Eagle frequently has whisky, rum, and gin, as well as beer'.
'I was hoping that we might find more congenial surronndings at
your studio'. 'I'm afraid my studio is in process of cleaning. We
should not be comfortable there. Why not come and try the lemonade
206
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
207
pUrva
piirva (I), 'previous': (I) a figure in which the subject of comparison is
said to precede in the order of creation or time the object to which
it is compared. (2) R 8.97 (98). (3) kale jaladakuldkuladasadiSi
purvarp viyoginfvadanam / galadaviralasalilabhararp pascad upajayate
gaganam (Rudraia; the face of the woman separated from her lover
was created before the sky: "In the season when the ten directions of
the sky are obscured by legions of clouds, the face of the separated
wife appears first; only then does the sky release its load of incessant,
flowing rain"). (4) "Be you not proud of that rich hair / Which
wantous with the love-sick air; / Whereas that ruby which you wear, /
Sunk from the tip of your soft ear, / Will last to be a precious stone /
When all your world of beauty's gone" (Robert Herrick; the beauty
of the ruby will outlast the beauty of her hair). (5) There are a
confusing number of figures and subtypes which involve in some
way or other tampering with the normal time sequence. In the
present case, since we are dealing with an implicit comparison, an
assumption of the object's natural primordinateness is legitimate
because, for the purposes of the comparison, it possesses reality in a
pihita
pihita, 'hidden': (I) a figure in which a quality or attribute is pictured as
withstanding, and predominant over another quality which in the
normai state of affairs would he the stronger. (2) R 9.50 (51). (3)
priyatamaviyogajanita krsata katham iva taveyam ange$u / lasadindukalakomalakantikalape$u lak$yeta (Rudraia; the thinness of her
aspect is obscured by her moon-like glamour: "The thinness which
you suffer in separation from your lover is not easily perceived,
for your limbs are effulgent with beauty gentle as the glimmer of
the waning moon"). (4) "He that looks still on your eyes, / Though
the winter have begun / To benumb our arteries, / Shall not want
the summer sun" (William Browne). (5) Cf tadgu1;la. Unlike
sambhiivyamanartha,.there is no transference of quality here, only
208
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
209
prativastilpamli
prativastopamli, 'counterpart simil~": (I) same as prativastu upamti.
(2) V 4.3.2, U 1.22-23, M 154. (5) Prativastupamti involves the repetition of the common property; ther~~~ed be no parallelism of terms
within the two situations. At any' rate,' this figure differs from
dmanta in that the emphasis is placed upon the repetition and not
on the parallelism. Cf also ubhayanytisa. ,II' !;if'"' (I,L,> " D, I,I~)
pratyanika
pratyanika, 'counter-attack': (I) a figure in which the object of comparison
is represented as taking revenge for a set-back initially suffered at
the hands of the subject. (2) R 8.92 (93), M 196. (3) yadi tava tayti
jigf$oS tadvadanam ahari ktintisarvasvam / mama tatra kim tipatita'fl
tapasi sita'flso yad eva'fl mtim (Rudra,a: "The beauty of the cool-
pratipa
pratipa,'against the grain': (1) a simile in which an affected pity or blame
is directed at the subject of comparison in the presence of the object,
or vice versa. (2) R 8.76 (77-78), M 201. (3) garvam asa'flvtihyam
prasasti
prailasti, 'flattery': (1) skill at employing words capable of melting the
resistance of others. (2) AP 345.3-4. (5) Prasasti may be divided
into prem8kti ('speaking kindnesses') and stuti ('praise'). Ktinti,
the next sabdarthtilamktira, is described as the use of such flattery in
appropriate circumstances.
210
GLOSSARY
prasna
prasna, 'question': (I) a figure wherein a question or remark suggests its
answer or reply. (2) R 7.93 (95). (3) kirrz svargiid adhikasukharrz
bandhusuhrtpalJlJitail;z samarrz lak~mil;z I sauritjyam adurbhik~arrz
satkitvyarasamrtdsvitdal;z (Rudrata; poetry is preferable to salvation:
"Is the nectar-like taste of true poetry-a prosperous empire which
knows no famine and the good fortune of relations, friends, and
teachers alike-more agreeable than salvation?"). (4) "Was this the
face that launch'd a thousand ships, I And burnt the topless towers of
Ilium?" (Christopher Marlowe). (5) The rhetorical question. Rudrata calls this also uttara (g.v.), but since it is the reverse of the first
type, we give it here. Prasna differs from parisarrzkhyit in that the
answer alone is intended, not the nature of the concept.
praheliki>
prahelikli, 'riddle': (I) a puzzle, riddle, conundrum; a phrase, statement,
or question constructed deliberately so that its meaning shall be
misconstrued, but in some way intimating a solution to the difficulty
thus created. (2) B 2.19, D 3.96-124, AP 343.22, 25-26, R 5.25 (29).
(3) katham api na drsyate'sitv anvak~arrz harati vasanitnl (Rudrata;
answer: viiyul;z; "He is not at all visible though he seizes most
obviously their clothing" ; answer: the wind). (4) "What is that which
is often brought to table, often cut, but never eaten?" (Robert Merry;
answer: a pack of cards). (5) Prahelikit is first mentioned by
Bhamaha as an illegitimate extension of yamaka ('cadence'); serving
no poetic purpO$I', this topic was apparently soon adopted into the
growing rag bag citrakitvya. Dal)<;lin, who gives the most extensive
treatment (enumerating sixteen types), also avers that such puzzles
serve only as recreation for scholars or critics and perhaps can be used
to demonstrate the prowess of one writer over another_a sort of
verbal jujitsu. The Agni Purit1;la and Rudrata both mention only
two types of riddle: one in which the answer is already contained
in the riddle phrase by a different reading of words (spa$(apracchanndrtha), and the other, the most frequently met variety, in which an
apparent paradox is proposed (vyithrta). Both types can be found in
Dal)<;lin, the first as ubhayacchanna, the second as ekacchanna. The
example given above illustrates the second type. Since neither the
names or the types found in Dal)<;lin are met with elsewhere, the
sixteen varieties will be given here.
ubhayacchanna, 'both concealed': (I) a conundrum in the form of a
of
GLOSSARY
211
213
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
dve~f satrub kar1;las tasya gurub pita siiryas tasya piidaib kira1;laib hatab
santapitab" and "himtipaho vahnib tasyamitrani ..lalani te~a'fl dharair
..laladharaib meghaib vyaptam"; the example is written in what
amounts to a code; translation would not clarify anything). (4)
"When does a temperance lecturer say a grammar lesson?" (Robert
Merry; answer: when he declines a drink). (5) "Drink" as a verb
refers to "declines" in one sense, as a potion, in another. Strings
such as the Sanskrit offers are unobtainable in English. This conundrum is identical with a later do~a, neyarthatva.
paru~a, 'hard': (I) a conundrum whose solution is given by applying an
apparent or false etymology (which is not justified by any usage)
to a word in the statement. (2) D 3.100 (113). (3) surab suralaye
212
the penniless man as "mined mountains", the rich man as ~'the sea"
214
GLOSSARY
Iwho I
GLOSSARY
215
but not lexically unjustifiable, ~ense. (2) D 3.98 (109). (3) kubjam
asevamanasya yatha te vardhate ratil; / naivalfl nirvisato narfr
amarastrfvit/ambinfl; (Dal).4in; kubja ('humpback') should be taken
in the secondary sense of kanyakubja (the city), that is, Kanauj):
"Your passion grows as you consort with the hunchback woman;
you have no use for women who outdo the wives of the Gods").
(4) "Who was the first that bore arms?" (Robert Merry; answer:
Adam; arrived at by taking "arms" in the sense of "upper extremities"). (5) In these two examples, the obvious context suggests that
kubja be taken in the sense of 'female hunchback', and that "arms"
be taken as "firearms". The writer uses this evident primary sense
to deceive us.
vyutkranta, 'out of order': (1) a conundrum whose solution is obtained
by rearranging the words of the statement. (2) D 3.99 (110). (3)
dalJt/e cumbati padminya halflsal; karkasakalJ!ake / mukhalfl valguravalfl kurvalfls tUIJt/endfigani gha!!ayan (Dal).4in; the proper sense is
given by reading "karkasakalJle dalJt/e padminya afigani gha!layan
valguravalfl kurvan halflsas tUIJt/ena (padminyal;) mukhalfl cumbati":
"Rubbing the members of the lotus on its stalk rough with spines,
the swan kisses the face [of the lotus] with his beak, making a soft
murmuring"). (4) "Was he short taken" (James Joyce; an example of
the classical "anastrophe"). (5) This is a sort of anagram of words
instead of letters.
salpkirl).a, 'mixed': (I) a riddle containing more than one of the riddles
listed under prahelika. (2) D 3.105 (123-24). (3) sahaya sagaja sena
sabhaleyalfl na cej jita / amatriko'yalfl milt/hal; syiid ak$arajiiai ca
nal; sutal; (Dal).4in; a mixture of namdntarita (sahaya and sagaja
taken as 'consisting of ha, ya, ga, and ja') and vaficita (sena in the
unusual sense of sa-ina); but would this not more properly be interpreted as pramu$ita? "If that army, with horse, elephant, and foot
not be conquered, then our son, though he know the ineffable
[ak$ara], is indeed unlettered and stupid"; or, "If the alphabet,
with its 'h, y, g, j, i, n, bh, t' be not learnt, then our son, though
he know letters, is indeed ... "). (4) "In what ship, and in what
capacity, do young ladies like to engage?" (Robert Merry: answer:
in court ship, as marry-ners; the first illustrates namdntarita, the
second, paru"a).
saJPkbyata, 'counted': (1) a conundrum whose solution is given by
interpreting qualities in another way than that intended by the
statement. (2) D 3.101 (114). (3) nasikyamadhya paritas caturvarlJa-
216
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
vibhil$itti
a~lavaYlJdhvayti
nrpti/z (Dm;H;lin:
"There is a certain city, adorned with the four castes, in the midst of
the Nasikyas, whose kings are called 'eight fold"'; or: "There is a
certain city with a nasal in the middle, surrounded by four phonemes,
whose kings bear a title of eight phonemes"; the answer is Kane!,
capital of the Pallaval). (4) "What has four eyes and can't see?"
(Trad.; answer: Mississippi).
samiigata, 'conjoined': (1) a conundrum whose solution is already
contained in the statement of the conundrum and is revealed by a
different reading of the constituent words (sarrzdhi). (2) D 3.98 (108).
(3) na maya gorasdbhijnarrz ceta/z kasmat prakupyasi I asthiinaruditair
ebhir a/am iilokitek~aQe (Dal)<,lin; .the answer is obtained by reading
na me ago-rasdbhijnarrz, etc.: "I'did not mark my mind with cow
her fingers, and the "bud" her red fingernail: "I saw in the garden a
creeper with five shoots, and on each shoot a scarlet flower bud").
(4) "Why is it profitable to keep fowl?" (Robert Merry; answer: for
every grain they give a peck). (5) This type appears to be the same
as vancita, but with the added qualification that more than one word
be taken in a secondary sense. The relation of the secondary senses
then suggests the solution to the conundrum; as neither "grain"
nor "peck" by itself is sufficient to enlighten the reader, their conjunction alone suggests the secondary sense (relating to grain as a collective) in which they both are to be taken.
samiinasabda, 'composed of the same words': (I) a conundrum whose
solution is effected by substituting synonyms for identifiable morphemic elements of less than word length. (2) D 3.103 (118). (3)
jitaprakmakddkhyo yas tavdbhumisdhvaya/z I sa mam adya prabhutotkarrz karoti ka/abhii~iQi (DaJ;l<,lin; the girl's lips are meant. Consider
'having the same name' (sdhvaya/z) as 'non-earth' (a-bhami). A
synonym for bhumi is dhara: substituting, we get a-dhara, which (not
217
longer paradoxical: "In the bed the two recumbent lovers turn
over from anger; likewise recumbent they kiss each other's faces in
passion"). (4) "How can five persons divide five eggs, so that each
man shall receive one, and still one remain in the dish?" (Robert
Merry; answer: one takes the dish with the egg). (5) This type is
similar to praka/pita, but here the context in which the phrase is
spoken does not provide the key; rather the reverse: the ability of
the phrase to correctly represent the occurrence is at issue. One
egg can remain in the dish when it is realized that this does not
preclude the dish itself being appropriated. As in the Sanskrit
example, the confusing word is "still", for the mind is, as it were,
compelled to conceive of an entirely unchanged first condition: that
the egg not only remains in the dish, but that the dish is still. on the
table. The mind is thus carried beyond the actual descriptive content
of the phrase, where only one aspect of the original condition is
unchanged, and falls into the syntactical blunder of overextending
the prodosis in the apodosis. As in praka/pita, however, no power
of words to convey two meanings is here employed.
preyas
preyas (I), 'more agreeable': (I) the expression of affection in an extraordinary way. (2) B 3.5, D 2.275 (276). (3) adya ya mama govinda
jiita tvayi grhdgate
I ka/enai~a
218
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
your coming today, Govinda, will return only when you come again !").
(4) "Dear Mrs. A., I Hooray, hooray, I At last you are deflowered. I
On this as every other day I I love you. -Noel Coward" (quoted by
Wolcott Gibbs; telegram sent to Gertrude Lawrence on the occasion
of her marriage). (5) See rasavat, ilrjasvi.
preyas (II): (1) that quality of a work of art by which descriptive situations
elicit and sustain in every way appropriately the basic mood (rasa)
ofthe work. (2) U 4.2. (3) iyaffl ca sutavallabhyan nirviSe~a sprhiivatiI
ullapayitum arabdhii krtvi!maffl krotja iilmana/z (Udbhaia; Piirvati
is fondling a young fawn: "Paying no heed to the difference and made
loving through tenderness for all offspring, she began to hum and
took it to her breast"). (4) "There will be a rusty gun on the wall,
sweetheart, I The rifle grooves curling with flakes of rust. I A spider
will make a silver string next in the darkest, warmest corner of it. I
The trigger and the range-finder, J~jy,too will be .rusty.rf And
no hands will polish the gun, and itwilLhang on the wall. I Forefinger and thumbs will point absently and casually toward it. I It
will be spoken among half-forgotten, wished-to-be-forgotten things. I
They will tell the spider: Go on, you're doing good work" (Carl
Sandburg; the title of this poem is "A. B. F." and its mood is santa).
(5) Udbhaia incorporates several elements of the rasa theory into
the traditional corpus of alafflkara. His pretext is the figure rasavat,
which from the time of Bhamaha could be determined in any
passage in which a rasa was evident or pre-eminent. The two figures
closely allied to rasavat, namely ilrjasvi and preyas, which originally
meant only 'arrogance' and 'compliance' and so contrasted with
rasavat (as reposing upon the ego and not upon bhiivas common to
all and especially the audience), are reinterpreted as special cases of
rasavat: excessive demonstration of any rasa, and the present adaptation of situation and mood. We need not go into the precise and
sometimes subtle analysis of situation (vibhiiva, anubhiiva, etc.);
suffice it to say that the present figure can be explained (and is by
later writers) as a composition whose situational elements are consistent and evocative of the proper final mood.
219
bhiiva
bhiiva (1), 'emotion': (I) a figure wherein the visible effect of an emotional
state, together with its apparently unrelated cause, suggests the nature
of that emotional state, which, in turn, explains the relevance of the
cause. (2) R 7.38 (39): (3) griimataruljal]1 taruljya navavaiijulama-
r!
220
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
221
don't yu', for God~s sake!' 'Not?' 'Don't yu' touch me'. 'What'll
I do?' 'Roll away quick to your side. It don't last but a minute ....
Oh, just don't let your arm or your laig touch me if I go to jumpin'
around. I'm dreamin' of Indians when I do that. And if anything
touches me then, I'm liable to grab my knife right in my sleep'"
(Owen Wister: the Virginian wishes to avoid sharing a bed with the
drummer). (5) Cf paryiiyfJkta, where the hidden intention is conveyed by a remark with no apparent relevance. This figure, like
vyiijfJkti, conveys a type of irony, but does not involve speaking
the opposite of one's real intent.
bhiivika
hhiivika, 'expressive': (I) the cohererfb~ of the entire work in a clear and
realistic unity. (2) B 3.53-54, D 2.3~1-66, U 6.6. (3) (4) No examples
are offered by Bhamaha or Dal)gl:ng (5). This curious alalpkiira,
defined as a quality [guva] of the enti;e work, perhaps represents the
extreme interpretation of the extent of the figure of speech. Here is
clearer than usual the etymological sense of alalpkiira: a 'making
adequate' of the work of art. Bhiivika is perceived in such aspects
as the relevance of the various parts of the story to one another, the
clarification of difficult contexts by an emphasis on a chain of events,
the suitability of the story to be represented in the form chosen,
clarity of language, and so on. Dal)gin explains that this figure is a
function of the poet's intention or desire (abhipriiya) and can be seen
as a competent rendering of that unity in the work. For a speculative
treatment of the ~gure, see the Introduction, pp. 50ff.
the common herd deem to be a maiden's face, flushed with the first
ecstasies of drink and framed in hair whose br~ids are dark as a
cloud of bees, I know to be the ruddy-glowing risen moon, attacked
by the black vapors of night hidden like secrets behind the eastern
mountain"). (4) "The fairness of that lady that I see / Yond in
the garden roamen to and fro, / Is cause of all my crying and my
woe. / I noot wher she be woman or goddess; / But Venus is it,
soothly, as I guess" (Chaucer). (5) Like thefigurespratfpa,pratyanfka,
and bhriintimat, this figure may be thought of as an implicit simile,
on the principle that what is confusable is comparable. But the
intention of the speaker mayor may not be to compare: in the second
example, the point of the rapprochement lies in the striking antithesis
rather than in the similitude of the two things. As a good example
of how those writers go astray who classify only by formal criteria,
the Sanskrit example, which is a simile, reads also 'what looks like a
girl's face to the unwashed is the moon to me'.
hhriintimat
bhriintimat, 'confused': (I) a figure in which one thing, usually the object
of comparison, is mistaken for another, usually the subject of comparison. (2) R 8.87 (88), M 200. (3) piilayati tvayi vasudhiirp vividhMhvaradhumamiilinfl;z kakubhal;z / pasyanti duyante ghanasamayiisafikayii
harpsiil;z (Rudrala: "While you, 0 King, protect the earth, the moun-
miIIta
miIita, 'fused': (I) a figure wherein two qualities or aspects of the same
thing are said to be indistinguishable, one imposing itself on the
other. (2) R 7.106 (107-108), M 197. (3) madiriimadabharapiilalakapolatalalocane~u vadane~u
222
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
223
yamaka
yamaka, 'doubled' or 'restraint': (I) a figure in which a part of a verse,
specified either as to length or position or both, is repeated within
the confines of the same verse, usually in such a way that the meaning
of the two readings is different; word play (one of the meanings
usually given to paronomasia). (2) NS 16.59-86, B 2.9-20 (definition,
17), D 3.1-72, V 4.1.1-7, AP 343.12-17, R 3.1-59, M 117-18. (3) na
seen on the faces of the spirited women whose cheeks are flushed and
whose eyes are bloodshot from devotion to spiritous liquor").
(4) "The hippopotamus's day / Is passed in sleep; at night he hunts;
/ God works in a mysterious way- / The Church can sleep and feed
at once" (T. S. Eliot). (5) If this figure is to be distinguished from
ordinary aliSayokti, the difference is most probably that the confusion
ofthe two states through a property is to be understood literally and
not as exaggeration. If so, the figure would be au asserted salflsaya:
it is not that the redness of her cheeks due to wine imposes itself
figmatively ou the reduess of passion; one really can't tell from the
redness alone what causes it. Milila differs from pihila in that the
states confused are similar, not"i\isparate.
mudr;i
mudra, 'seal': (I) the ability of the poet!iJ express his intentions clearly.
(2) AP 342.26. (5) This is the secondsabdiilalflkiira of the Agni
Purii1;la and can also be called sayyii ('bed'). Presumably, what is
meant is the old idea of siihilya as the unity of word and meaning,
the expression of just the right idea in just the right way. In the
Sarasvatfka1;l!hiibhara1;la (2.125), the term is described as the able
renderiug of the context of an idea.
yathasaqJkhya
yathasaqJkhya, 'each to each': (I) a figure consisting of ordered sequences
of terms, such as nouns and adjectives or subjects and objects of
comparison, so arranged that item one of the first sequence matches
item one of thd"second, item two of the first matches item two of
the second, and so on. (2) B 2.89 (90), D 2.273 (274), V 4.3.17,
U 3.2, AP 346.21, R 7.34 (36-37), M 164. (3) dhruvalfl Ie corilii
lanvi smiti!k~a1;lamukhadyulih ! sniitum ambhah pravi~!iiyiih kumudolpalapaiikajaih(DalJCJin: "As you entered the water to bathe, you
certainly stole the beauty of your smile, eyes, and face from the red
lotus, the blue lotus, and the white lotus"). (4) "The Piazza, with
its three great attractions-the Palazzo Pubblico, the Collegiate
Church, and the Caffe Garibaldi: the intellect, the soul, and the
body-had never looked more charming" (E. M. Forster). (5)
Da(l<,liu gives as alternate names for this figure krama and salflkhyiina;
Vilmana uses only krama. In the Agni Purii1;la, yalhiisalflkhya
is considered a gU1;la rather than an alalflkiira!
224
GLOSSARY
latter, abhinnapada (different or identical words). The term "paronomasia" can be used loosely either of word play or ofpunning (doubleentendre): when the two meanings of an identical sequence of words
are obtained simultaneously, we have sle$a or pun; when they are
obtained sequentially, we have yamaka or 'cadence'.
In English poetry, the figure yamaka is generally restricted to
light verse and doggerel: "But from her grave in Mary-bone / They've
come and boned your Mary" (Thomas Hood; referring to bodysnatchers; a parivrlti yamaka). Occasionally, it serves a satirical
purpose, as in Joyce Cary's" watercolour
slaughtercolour .
mortarcolour ... scortacolour tortacolour
thoughtacolour ",
a samastapiida yamaka based on the movie industry's overuse of the
suffix "~color" ("technicolor,))vistacolor", etc.). Nowadays, in
America at any rate, yamakas are f(lund most frequently in advertisingjargon, where it is apparently beti~jed that they awaken curiosity:
"For news you can depend on, depeird onethe Chicago Daily News".
This is also a parivrtti yamaka.
The figure yamaka is closely related to, and probably the progenitor
of, several other figures, notably liiJanupriisa and the various kinds
of citra. The former involves repetition of contiguous words (like
Bharata's yamakas), and the latter depend on principles of repetition
other than the obvious linear one (such as zig-zag, palindrome,
hop-scotch, etc.). The figure has been minutely subdivided, especially
by Bharata, Dal).gin, and Rudrala, but all the distinctions relate
only to the scope and place of the repetition in the verse (first piida,
beginning offirstpiida, first half offirstpiida, etc.). For this reason,
I have not attempted to give an English example for each variety.
English verses employ yamakas in no such consistent fashion (all
would be classified as samuccaya yamakas by the precious), and
most of the English yamakas are not found in verse, anyhow. All
the infinite varieties reduce to the same uniform notion: repetition
of word spans with different meanings.
Udbhata alone of the early writers does not mention yamaka,
though h~ devotes much thought to an elaborate classification of
liitanupriisa. The other writers differ largely as to the degree to
which the analysis is carried. Bhamaha proposes only five types,
Vamana a half-dozen, and Mammala, though admitting the infinity
of possible types, illustrates only five. Bharata, however, describes
ten varieties, which is rather surprising considering that he finds only
four types of upamii. ...Dal).gin's elaborate classification differs from
GLOSSARY
225
Rudrala's only in detail and in the fact that he proposes little special
terminology to cover the multitude oftypes. Rudrata gives a technical
name for each variety, only a very few of which seem to have been
traditional (see samudga yamaka). Both writers distinguish yamakas
whose scope is the entire piida (quarter verse) from those whose
scope is only a fraction of a piida (samastapiidaja, piidalkadesaja).
In the former category are included half sloka and whole sloka
yamakas (samudgaka, mahiiyamaka). (See also mukha, sal'fldal'flsa,
iivrti, garbha, sal'flda$taka, puccha, pafikti, parivrlti, and yugmaka
yamakas). The latter variety is, of conrse, infinite, and both writers
classify as to where and how much of the piida is involved (iidimadhyanta yamakas, etc.) and also as to how many piidas exhihit yamakas, and how many times the yamaka itself is repeated. Many of
these varieties have no name. Rudrata, the supreme technician,
divides "partial" yamaka into those whose scope is the half piida
and those whose scope is a quarter or a third of a piida (see antadika,
valelra, iidimadhya, etc.). All writers profess to be incapable. of
dealing with yamaka in its entirety.
Mter the triumph of the dhvani theory, yamaka comes to be considered the type par excellence of citrakiivya, the lowest of the three
varieties of poetry, which embodies nothing of poetic value and
displays mere verbal virtuosity. (See citra.) Yamaka and citra are,
however, distinguished from one another very sharply by the
tradition. Cf the consistent yamakas of Raghuval'flsa 9th canto.
ak~ara, 'syllable': (I) a type of yamaka in which the repeated elements
are syllables which occur either once, at the beginning of each piida,
or in such a way that the entire piida or verse is composed of doubles.
(2) V 4..1.2. (3) niiniikiire/Ja kiintiibhrur iiriidhitamanobhuvii / viviktena
viliisena tatak$a hrdayal'fl nr/Jiim (Vamana: "The eyebrows of a
lovely girl strike into the heart of a man with varied coquetry,
each of their shapes delightful to the Love God"). vividhadhavavanii
niigagargharghaniiniivivitatagagniiniimamajjajjaniinii (Vamana; unclear in meaning). (5) Most yamakas are repetitions defined in piidas
or parts of piidas, rather than in single syllables, but compare piidlidi
yamaka, where only the location of the repetition is specified.
anta, 'end': (I) see piidanta.
antiidika, 'final-initial': (I) a type of yamaka in which the repeated elements
are the last half of the first piida and the first half of the second. (2)
R 3.23 (24). (3) niiri/Jiim alasal'fl nabhi lasanniibhi kadambakam /
paramastram anafigasya kasya no ramayen mana/:! (Rudrata: "Whose
GLOSSARY
226
227
GLOSSARY
BzzB CxxC DxxD. (5) Type (a) is not illustrated; it is the inverse of
antiidika.
amre~ta, 'reiterated': (I) a type of yamaka in which the word at the end
of eachpada is repeated. (2) NS 16.79 (80), AP 343.16. (3) vijrmbhitam nihsvasitam muhur muhu!; katharrz vidheyasmaravarrz pade pade /
ya;hti ~a te dh~anam idarrz puna!; punar dhruvarrz gatiite rajani vina
vina (Bharata: "Again and again yawning and sighing; why is your
remembrance fixed on these several situations? Just as your meditation returns again and again, so indeed the night passes without her,
without her"). (5) This yamaka of Bharata is peculiar in referring
to the repetition of words; in fact, the later definitions of yamaka
specify that the two readings obtained by repetition must have a
different word base, and that the scope of the repetition is usually the
pada or a fractional part thereof(that is, must be entirely independent
of the semantic content of the utterance). Bharata is less strict on
this point; amre(!ita yamaka resembles la{iinuprasa, except that the
repetition of words is confined to the end of the pada.
avali, 'necklace': (I) a type of yamaka showing varied types of repetition
within the confines of single padas. (2) B 2.9 (14). (3) sitiisitiik~irrz
supayodhariidhararrz susarrzmadarrz vyaktamadarrz lalamadiirrz / ghanaghana nilaghana ghaniilakarrz priyam imam utsukayanti yanti ca
(Bhamaha: "The great dark heaps of clouds come to and cause to
pine my love, thick locked, with eyes both light and dark, her body
with such lovely breasts and lips, by whom passion is manifested,
giver of ornament"). (4) The form, for this example only, is: AAxxBB
xCxCxC DDxDDx xxxxEE. (5) This type of random repetition
shows the close relation between alliteration (anuprasa) and cadence
(yamaka). Later writers tend to extend the scope of the repetition
to larger parts of the verse and thus lessen the possibility of such
free play.
avrti, 'covering': (I) a type of yamaka in which the repeated elements
are the first and fourthptidas. (2) R 3.3 (6), M 118C. (3) mudiirata(!i
samariijiriijita!; pravrddhateja!; prathamo dhanu~matam / bhavan
bibhartlha nagas ca medinim udarata(!isamarajirajita!; (Rudrala; text
and commentator agree in taking "beautiful ..." as a nominative
masculine, agreeing with "mountain", though the sense would seem
better served by interpreting it as an accusative feminine, with
"earth". No metrical change would be occasioned. "With pleasure
crushing your enemies, unconquered on the field of battle, of mature
glory, first among archers, you, 0 Kiug, support here the world as
c..C).
','
228
GLOSSARY
does the Himalaya, beautiful with even rows of lofty tai trees").
(4) The form is: A x x A. (5) Compare mukha, garbha, etc.
ekfintaraplida, 'ptidas with one (ptida) intervening': (1) a type of yamaka
iu which the repeated elements are corresponding parts of nonadjacent padas. (2) V 4.1.2. (3) udvejayati bhatani yasya rajiiab
kusasanam / siltlhlisanaviyuktasya tasya k$ipralJl kustisanam (Yamana:
"The evil government of a king who afflicts mankind will quickly
be transformed into residence among the kusa grass for him, when
his lion-throne is lost"). (4) The form is: xx xA xx xA. (5) The scope
of the repetition is not specified; the example shows half padas.
Naturally, the repetition could occur at the beginniug or iu the
middle of non-adjacent ptidas as well.
kliiici, 'Conjeeveram': (I) a type of yiWlaka in which the repeated elements
are located severally at the beginning and end of each pada, or, in
the manner ofa combination of madhya yamaka and adyanta yamaka,
are the first and last quarters and sMond .and third quarters of each
pada. (2) NS 16.66 (67), AP 343.15, R 3:44 (47). (3) yamalJl yamalJl
asadya bhavaty acintab samud ratdrambharatab sadaiva / samudrataralJl bharatab sa daivapramavam arabhya payasy udtase (Rudra!a:
"The king who, having attained empire, becomes careless, iudulgent,
and spends his time in making love is, as it were, attempting to
cross the ocean by swimming and, by the will of fate, finds himself
abandoned in the water"). (4) The form is: x A A x. (5) Cf. avrti
yamaka.
cakraka, 'circular': (I) a type of yamaka in which the last half of each
ptida is repeated by the first half of the following ptida, and in which
the first half of the firs~ptida is repeated by the last half of the fourth
GLOSSARY
229
ayam eva kalo varavanamayam eva kalab / varavanam ayam eva kalo
va ravanam ayam eva kaiab (Bharata: "This is the season of varava
flowers, the time when elephants have no diseases, when death
stalks his enemies and suggestion is of battles"). (5) Note that
minor variations in salJldhi do not vitiate the identity of the yamaka.
Each pada, though phonemically identical, has a different morphemic
analysis; the first and third, which appear the same morphemically,
are assigned to different homonyms: varava (a 'flower' and 'enemy').
This is the same as pafikti yamaka.
du~kara, 'difficult': (1) a yamaka involving greater limitation on occurrence
and scope than is usual. (2) D 3.38 ff. (3) (4) See, for example,
mahayamaka. See also under citra.
paiikti, 'series': (1) same as caturvyavasita. (2) R 3.10 (12).
parivrtti, 'exchange': (I) a type of yamaka in which the fourth pada
repeats the first and the third repeats the second; this is, in effect,
a combination of avril and garbha yamakas. (2) R 3.13 (14). (3)
230
GLOSSARY
[and not from hope of gain]. You think on this too much; it is
appropriate in matters of the heart: excess of love always ornaments
a proud woman"). (4) The form is: A B B A. (5) Cf yugmaka
yamaka.
padamadhya, 'middle of the piida': (1) a type of yamaka in which a
repetition occurs in the middle of one, or each piida, or in which
one or both of the middle (second and third) piidas contains the
repetition. (2) B 2.9 (12), D 3.1-2 (5-6), V 4.1.2, AP 343.15. (3)
piida.
padayor adimadhyiintayamakani, 'yamakas involving two piidas': (1) same
as padtidi, padamadhya, and padtinta yamakas, except that the scope
of the repetition is two adjacent jJadas, rather than one pada alone.
(2) V 4.1.2. (3) bhramara drumapu$paQi bhrama ratyai piban madhu/
ka kundakusume prfti!; kakur[l dattva virau$i kim (Viimana: "Bee,
go roam from flower to tree-flower for pleasure drinking honey;
what joy is therejn the jasmine bloom? Why do you make such a
noise, murmuring?"). (4) The form, for this example only, is:
Axxx Axxx Bxxx Bxxx. (5) For Vamana, a piidtidi yamaka has only
the form AAxx BBxx CCxx DDxx; hence this variation in which the
word pada appears in the dual.
padasamudgaka, 'piida-casket': (1) a type of yamaka where the repeated
elements are the first and second half of the same piida. (2) R 3.36
(37-39). (3) rasasara rasdsara vida raQavidaraQa / bhavatdrambhavatdrar[l mahfyatam ahfyata (Rudra(a: "0 essence of the earth! 0
shower of moods! 0 exterminator in battle! By you, wise and enterprising, the enemy, sent to earth, has been slain"). (4) The form is:
AA BB CC DD. (5) Rudra(a gives two other examples, in which
not all piidas show repetition (AA xx BB xx; xx AA xx BB). Compare
samudga yamaka.
GLOSSARY
231
padiidi (1), 'beginning of the piida': (1) a type of yamaka in which each
pada begins with the same word. (2) NS 16.77 (78). (3) vi$Qu!; srjati
(3) mtinena miinena sakhi pra(layo bhut priye jane / khavl}.ita kaQlham
asli$ya tam eva kuru satrapam (DalJ4in: "Friend, don't show affection
for your lover by such anger! Though betrayed, you must embrace
him aud make him ashamed"). (5) See piidamadhya. Vamana's
example shows each pada beginning with a different yamaka (note
the difference from padtidi I, where the same word, not repeated,
begins each piida). The scope of the repetition is not specified.
padiiuta (I), 'end of the piida': (1) a type of yamaka in which each piida
ends with the same word. (2) NS 16.63 (64). (3) dinak$ayiit sar[lhrta-
kaiScid akrantar[l kaiscit sadma divtiukasam / padatirathanagiisvarahitair ahitais tava (DaIl4in: "Some of your enemies, shorn of
soldiers, chariots, elephant, and horse, have retired to the forest,
some to the seats of the Gods"). (5) See piidiidi II.
padiibbyasa, 'repetition of the piida': (1) same as samastapiida yamaka.
(2) B 2.9 (13), D 3.53 (57-66). (5) Bhiimaha gives an example
illustrating Rudra(a's sar[lda${aka yamaka (second and fourth piidas
identical). Dall4in illustrates piida repetition in all possible loci,
including triple repetitions.
padiiikadesaja, 'relating to parts (only) of piidas': (1) a generic term for
all those kinds of repetition whose scope is less than pada length.
(2) R 3.2 (20-55). (5) The opposed term is samastapiidaja ('referring
to the entire piida'). This division classifies all yamakas in the most
"'-
233
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
232
234
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
malf khelf malf salf jalf / khalo balo balo malo musalf tv abhiraksatu
235
analak$yataratarakam fk$itum / taratdramyarasitam kalam kalamahaghanam (Dal).<;lin: "What woman is able to look ~t the ireat black
rain clouds in their season, hiding the myriads of stars and, deathlike and fearsome, resounding in the great distances"). (5) Dal).CJin
gives two other examples illustrating different loci for this noncontiguous repetition ofcontiguous repetitions. See vyapeta yamaka.
vyasta, 'separated': (I) a type of yamaka in which the repeated elements
are the second half of the third piida and the first half of the fourth
piida. (2) R 3.23 (25). (3) pasyanti pathikal,z k6masikhidhiimaSikhiim
iva / imal'{l padmdlaydlfnal'{l laydlfnal'{l makavalfm (Rudrata: "The
passersby observe a great column of bees, thickly entwined, above
the lotus pond, like a tongue of smoke from the fire of Love").
(4) The form is: xx xx xA Ax. (5) The name probably signifies only
that this is half of a samasta (complete) yamaka. The same pattern
in the first two piidas is called antddika.
sikhli, 'tuft': (I) a type of yamaka in which the last half of eachpiida is a
yamaka consisting of repeated quarter padas. (2) R 3.40 (42).
pada.
vaktra, 'mouth', 'origin': (I) a type of yamaka in which the first half
pada of each pada is a yamaka consisting of repeated quarter padas.
(2) R 3.40 (41). (3) ghanaghanabhinilanam astham asthaya siiSvatfm /
ca/{icaltipi kamale linalfnam ikavalf (Rudra!a: "Moving and motionless on the lotus adheres a wreath of bees, dark as the rain cloud,
perpetually in place"). (4) The form is: AAxx BBxx CCxx DDxx.
(5) Cf sikhii and mala yamakas.
236
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
237
yamakas.
samastapada (1), 'allpildas': (I) same aspildiinta 1. (2) B 2.9 (15).
samastapada (II): (I) a type of yamaka in which the same repetition
occurs at the end of each pilda. (2) V 4.1.2. (3) natannatabhrugati-
{ltaka.
salpda~ta
238
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
239
rasavat
rasavat, 'expressing a mood': (1) a figure in which is clearly expressed a
mood or rasa-usually sriigiira, the amorous. (2) B 3.6, D 2.275
(280-92), U 4.3-4, M 66 (123C.). (3) mrteti pretya sa1[lgantu1[l yayii
me mara1;la1[l matam / stii$tivantf mayii labdhii katham atrtiiva janmani
(Dal).c;1in; sriigiira rasa: "She whom I thought had gone beyond to
death, who made me want to follow her, did it happen that I won her
to me in this present life, my Viisavadattii?"). (4) "Everywhere
the vastness and terror of the immense night which is roused and
stirred for a brief while by the day, but which returns, and will
remain at last eternal, holding everything in its silence and its living
gloom" (D. H. Lawrence; perhaps siinta rasa). (5) This figure becomes crucial for the tenants of the dhvani theory, who want to establish the autonomous expression of rasa vis-it-vis the figures of
speech. Should there be a figure which itself is the expression of a
rasa, the contrary would a fortiori be proven, and the rasa would be
subordinated to the general notion of the figure. The outcome of
the argument allows rasavat as the general term for those figures
which contain a touch of rasa, but where the rasa is not the major
end of the poet employing that figure. Rasaas the proper end is
pure dhvani and not related to any figure (Dhvanyiiloka 2.5).
riipaka
riipaka, 'having the form of': (I) metaphorical identification. A figure
in which the subject of comparison is identified with its object by a
specific process of grammatical subordination. (2) NS 16.56-58,
B 2.21-24, D 2.66-96, V 4.3.6, U 1.11-13, AP 344.22-23 (the definitions
of both Bhiimaha and Dal).c;1in are repeated), R 8.38-56, M 139-45.
(3) tat/idvalayakak$yii1;lii1[l baliikiimiilabhiiri1;liim / payomucii1[l dhvanir
dhfro dunoti mama tii1[l priyiim (Bhiimaha; the lightning is characterized as a bracelet, the cranes as a garland: "The roaring of the
great clouds, wearing a bracelet of lightning and a garland of cranes,
frightens my love"). (4) "The flute of morning stilled in noon- /
noon the implacable bassoon- / now twilight seeks the thrill of
moon, / washed with a wild and thin / despair of violin" (e. e.
cummings). (5) Rupaka, one of the four original ala1[lkiiras, is
considered by all writers to be a development of upamii and is, in
240
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Or
241
242
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
243
the object ofcomparison of the first metaphor may become the subject
of comparison of the following, and so on, giving a chain of metaphors (rasanti); lastly, the object of comparison of one metaphor
may itself imply a second, completely independent, metaphorical
identification which, as it were, grows out of the first (para'!1parita,
or "continuous" metaphor). Mammata considers this last a separate
type, not a subtype of niravayava rupaka. Otherwise, his classification is a simplified version of Rudrata's.
Dandin as is his wont, completes the discussion of rupaka by
consid~ri;g the implications of other figures for this figure. Among
the rupakas so qualified are viruddha (the figure virodha), hetu, sli~ta
(the figure sle"a), upamti, vyatireka, tik~epa, and rupaka itself. This
last is a three-member metaphor differing from the types of complex
and compound metaphors in that the three terms are identified
with each other as such and imply no relation of subordination or
qualification. Further categories proposed by Dal,l<;lin and illustrating various principles are (sa)viSe~alJa rupaka, where the metaphors
are grammatically adjectival, that is neither compounded (samasta)
nor predicated (asamasta); samtidhtina rupaka, where an inconsistency
in the metaphor is alleged and explained; and the curious tattvapahnava or "denial of identity", which at first glance appears to be the
very inverse of rupaka or "identification". See that term.
The other writers propose classifications which adumbrate those
more fully outlined by Dal,l<;lin or Rudrata.
The definitions of rupaka are remarkably unIform, yet some authors
(Dal,l<;lin, Udbhata, Rudrata) emphasize the negative aspect of
identification and thus relate the figure explicitly to upamti, while
others (Bhamaha, Vamana) consider the identification in a positive
way. The rapaka is, for the former group, a simile with the difference
between the two things suppressed (tirobhutabheda) and, for the latter
group, is simply an identification (tattva) of the two things.
ayukta, 'unrelated': (I) a type of complex rupaka in which the objects
of the subsidiary metaphors are not mutually related in terms of
some well-known cliche or image which in fact suggests a contrary;
mixed metaphor. (2) D 2.78. (3) idam tirdrasmitajyotsna/1l snigdhanetropala'!1 mukham (Dal,l<;lin; "moonlight" and "day lotus" are not
usually connected in popular usage: "This face is radiant with its
moonlight of tender smiles and the soft day lotus of its eye"). (4)
"'De sun is made of mud from de bottom of de river; f De moon is
made 0' fox-fire, as you might disciver'" (Owen Wister; fire and
244
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
mud). (5) Cf yukta riipaka and ekdfiga riipaka. See also sa,!,kfYl;la,
where the "mixed metaphor" is more generally defined and is not
limited to an opposition of ideas.
avayava (I), 'part': (1) a complex riipaka in which the subsidiary aspects
of the identified subject and object are themselves explicitly identified
and become members of the total metaphor, but in which the
principal metaphor is only implicitly expressed, the subject alone
being mentioned. (2) D 2.72 (71). (3) akasmad eva te ealp!i sphuritddharapallavam / mukha,!, muktiirueo dhatte gharmdmbhabkal;lamaiijarfb (DawJin; her lip is metaphorically a blossom, her beads of
sweat are blossoms, but her face is just her face: "Suddenly your face,
o cruel one! the blossom of its!9wer lip bursting forth, gives to the
garland of beads of sweat the appearance of pearls"). (4) "In striving
to avoid that terrible Charybdis of a, Slope she was in great danger of
falling into an unseen Scylla on th~d)ther hand, that Scylla being
Bertie Stanhope" (Anthony Trollope:; Mrs.' Bold is not here metaphorically identified with Ulysses). (5) Cf avayavi.
avayava (II): (1) a complex metaphor showing identification of subsidiary
aspects. (2) R 8.41-42 (43-45). (3) (4) See the terms mentioned
under (5). (5) The figure is subdivided into three types, depending
upon how necessarily related to the principal metaphor are the
subordinate metaphors: sahaja (the sub-aspects of both are inherent
qualities), iihiirya (they are accidental qualities), and ubhaya (the
sub-aspects of one are inherent, of the other, accidental).
The text reads sdvayava.
avayavi, 'whole': (1) a.complex riipaka in which certain subsidiary aspects
of the principal sUbject are mentioned descriptively, while it alone
is described metaphorically. (2) D 2.74 (73). (3) vaigitabhru galadgharmajalam iilokitek"alJam / vivriJoti maddvasthiim ida,!, vadanapafikajam (Dal)<Jin; the face is a lotus, but the brows, sweat, and eyes
are but themselves: "The lotus of her face betrays intoxication with
its fluttering brows, dripping beads of sweat, and inviting glances").
(4) "But two men in an aeroplane are twins in a womb. The very
pulse of one must be the pulse of both, their senses, glances, thoughts,
such a unison of co-operation as the former world never saw"
(Oliver Onions). (5) Cf avayava, the inverse case.
asli~ta, 'not punned': (I) a riipaka in which the descriptive qualifications
apply to one or tbe other of the metaphorically identified terms
(usually the object) and not to both, in the manner of a pun. (2) M
145. (3) niravadhi ea,iziriisraya,!, ea yasya sthitam anivartitakautu-
245
kaprapaiieam / prathama iha bhaviin sa kiirmamiirtir jayati eaturdasalokavallikandab (Mammata; here the qualifications apply primarily
to
Vi~l)u,
246
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
247
248
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
rigeur.
249
250
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
identified with a bow; this, in itself, is unclear until the bow is said to
belong to the love-hunter: she is the love-hunter's bow: "This lovely
maiden conquers all-she is a lotns pond of all the arts, a river of
beauty, a crescent moon on the lake of earthly joys, the bow of the
love-hunter"). (4) "Our caresses, our tender words, our still rapture
under the influence of autumn sunsets, or pillared vistas, or calm
majestic statues, or Beethoven symphonies, all bring with them the
consciousness that they are mere waves and ripples in an unfathomable ocean of love and beauty" (George Eliot). (5) The termparalflparita is defined with differing emphases by the two authors who use
it: Rudrala draws attention to the formal peculiarity of the compound word which expresses the"metaphor; namely, that it contains
one subject but two objects otcomparison (love, subject; hunter,
object; bow, object), this second o~ject referring to a second subject
which is outside the compound: tJtergiri. This verbalistic account
seems to avoid the main point, which is "the relation of inclusion or
extension obtaining between the object of the principal metaphor and
the second metaphor (bow? which bow? love-hunter's bow). Mammala, with uncharacteristic insight, fixes upon this conceptual relationship and expresses it as that of condition and conditioned (only
by knowing that the bow is that of the love-hunter does it make
sense to equate it with the girl.)
Paralflparita is classified as a type of niravayava rfipaka, a noncomplex metaphor without subordinate metaphorical identifications;
that is, the relation ofsubordination discussed above does not involve
the relation of a whole to its parts, which is what is intended by the
term "complex".:Cf siivayava, niravayava. Analytically,paralflparita
is the inverse of avayava, for the metaphor that in avayava would be
the whole (love-hunter) is here the subordinate (at least grammatically), and the part (girl-bow) is the principal. But tWs is not the point
at issue, for the form of paralflparita is not merely the inverse of the
form of siivayava (where the principal, neatly spelled out, is accompanied by metaphorically identified aspects, neatly spelled out and
inserted at appropriate places in the larger idea: an architectonic of
metaphor); rather, in paralflparita the subordinate metaphor (which
is the principal of siivayava in meaning) is both a grammatical and
conceptual element of an aspect (the object) of the principal metaphor. Instead of being founded upon a part, it is a part: it is integrated in what is analytically its own consequence.
Paralflparita is apparently identical with the upamarfipaka alalfl-
\~~. h t~dt!,'rlJ;
'"l"'k A
'1"(+\1
{k~rtM")
251
(Rudrata: "Alas, that lady has shot an arrow into my heart! She
is the ultimate weapon of the God of Love, an ocean of beauty, a
treasure-trove of qualities, a palace of pleasure!"). (4) "TWs royal
throne of kings, tWs scepter'd isle, / This earth of majesty, this seat
of Mars, / This other Eden, demi-paradise, / This fortress built by
Nature for herself / Against infection and the hand of war, / TWs
happy breed of men, tWs little world, / TWs precious stone set in
the silver sea, / ... TWs blessed plot, tWs earth, tWs reahu, tWs
England, / This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings ..."
(Shakespeare). (5) Cf niravayava; most of the common figures
(upama, vyatireka) are capable of this extension, since they are all
analyzable into the same elements: tWng compared, object of
comparison, common property, etc. Mammala also gives an example
for a garland of paralflparita metaphors. No new principle is
involved.
ynkta, 'related': (I) a type of complex rfipaka in wWch the objects of
the subsidiary metaphors go together, that is, are mutually related
in terms 9f some well-known cliche or image. (2) D 2.77. (3)
smitapu$pojjvalalfl lolanetrabhrfigam idalfl mukham (DaJ.l4in; bees
252
253
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
and flowers, with which the eyes and the smile are identified, are
thus mutually related: "This face is radiant with its smile-flower
and the bees which are her roaming eyes"). (4) "Saratoga perhaps
deserves our greater homage, as being characteristically democratic
and American .... Let us, then, make Saratoga the heaven of our
aspiration, but let us yet a while content ourselves with Newport as
the lowly earth of our residence" (Henry James). (5) Cf ayukta
riipaka. In DaJ:1<;lin's classification, this term is to be taken as a
subtype of dvyaiiga (or tryaiiga) riipaka, which is itself an extension
of ekdiiga, q.v. That is to say, when more than one sub-aspect of an
image is made the subject of a metaphorical identification, these
identifications may be classified as to their mutual compatibility.
We may not apply this classification to those metaphors in which the
principal identification is explicit" since presumably in that case
all the subsidiary objects will be a~pects of the principal, and thus
a fortiori go together.
rasana, 'rope': (I) a series of riipaka in which the object of identification
of the preceding metaphor becomes the subject of the following,
and so on. (2) R 8.46 (50), M 145C. (3) kisalayakarair latiiniil"(l
creepers, then the hand-lotuses of the girls: "The Love God conquers
the entire world with weapons which are the bud-hands of creepers,
with the hand-lotuses of lovers, with the lotus-faces of the blue lotus
plant, with the face-moons of maidens"). (4) "Nor doth this wood
lack worlds of company, / For you, in my respect, are all the world"
(Shakespeare). (5) This figure is the inverse of rasanii upamii.
riipaka, 'metaphor': (I) a riipaka in which the object of a simple metaphorical identification is itself taken as the subject of a further metaphor; a triple metaphor. (2) D 2.93. (3) mukhapaiikajaraiige'smln
bhriilatiinartakf tava / lfliinrtyal"(l karoti (DaJ:1<;lin; on the stage which
is a lotus which is her face: on the face-lotus-stage: "On the stage
of your face-lotus, the player of your brow-creeper acts out a
divertissement"). (4) "In those mirrors, the minds of men, in those
pools of uneasy water, in which clouds forever tnm and shadows
form" (Virginia Woolf; in those mind-mirror-pools). (5) If the two
identifications are independently taken, a miiliiriipaka is formed.
I think, however, that in Virginia Woolf's example, the "pools"
should be taken with the "mirrors" rather than with "minds",
since it is their reflecting surface which is to be emphasized by the
(DaJ:1<;lin: "The moon of your face does not cause the lotuses to close
and does not swim amongst the clouds, but it does seem uniquely
able to enslave me!"). (4) "You are a tulip seen to-day, / But,
dearest, of so short a stay / That where you grew scarce men can
say" (Robert Herrick). (5) Viruddha differs from vyatlreka riipaka
in that the identification overrides the distinction. The "obstruction",
specifically, is the non-performance by the subject of the metaphor
of an act which is characteristic of the object: the moon causes
lotuses to close; a tulip grows in a garden.
vise~aQa, 'qualification': (I) a riipaka which descriptively qualifies another
word. (2) D 2.82 (81). (3) haripadah Sirolagnajahnukanyiijaldl"(lsukah
/ jayaty asuranihankasuriinand6tsavadhvajah (DaJ:1<;lin; Vi~J:1u's foot
is said to be wreathed with "Ganges water-gauze"; note that the
Ganges is said to have sprung from a footprint of Vi~l)u: "May the
foot of Vi~J:1u be victorious: the banner of the festival of joy of the
Gods who were made fearless [by that foot] of the hosts of demons,
[the banner] being the water-gauze of the Ganges attached to the
mast [of Vi~J:1u's foot]"). (4) "Books were on his shelves by Wells
and Shaw; on the table serious sixpenny weeklies written by pale
men in muddy boots-the weekly creak and screech of brains rinsed
in cold water and wrung dry-melancholy papers" (Virginia Woolf).
(5) These metaphors differ from samastavastuvi$aya riipaka in that
a relation other than that of whole to part underlies the subordination of one to the other component metaphor. In the examples, it is
that of substantive and qualification. Of course, this formal distinction does not affect the meaning or subject matter of the metaphor,
and it should be possible to express the matter as a samastavastuvi$aya
by stating the terms in that relation.
vi~ama, 'uneven': (I) a complex riipaka in which the principal identification is made explicit together with only some of the subordinate
identifications; the remaining aspects are treated descriptively and
unmetaphorically. (2) D 2.79 (80). (3) madaraktakapolena man-
254
255
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
mathas tvanmukhendunii ! nartitabhrUlateniilaf[l mardituf[l bhuvanatrayam (DalJ.cJ.in; "face-moon" is explicit, along with "brow-creeper",
but "cheeks flushed with drink" is descriptive and does not continue
the metaphor: "The God of Love has punished the world enough
with the moon of your face, its cheeks flushed with drink, its browcreeper dancing"). (4) "Let us by reverend degrees draw near, ! I
feel the Goddess here. ! Lo I, dread Sack, an humble priest of thine!
First kiss tWs cup thy shrine. ! That with more hallowed lips and
inlarg'd soul! I may receive the whole" (Anon., "In Praise of Sack";
"Sack Goddess" should be taken as the principal; the drinker and
his cup are identified with the priest and the shrine, but neither the
"priest's" soul nor his lips is metaphorically identified). (5) This
figure amounts to a combinatfon of avayavi and ekiiiiga rilpakas.
It is a samastavastuvi$aya rilpakq with some of the subordinate
aspects not metaphorically identifi,iq;
vyatireka, 'distinction': (1) a rilpaka in which a distinction is drawn
between the metaphorically identified object and its real counterpart;
a literal re-evaluation of the metaphor itself. (2) D 2.88 (90). (3)
candramaJ,z pfyate devair maya tvqnmukhacandramaJ,z ! asamagro'py
asau sasvad ayam apilrljamOl;uJalaJ,z (Dal}gin: "The moon[beams] are
drunk by the Gods, [the beams from] your face-moon I drink; the
former is often less than full, the latter ever and always perfect").
(4) "I will be Paris, and for love of thee, ! Instead of Troy, shall
Wertenberg be sacked" (Christopher Marlowe; Faustus is speaking).
(5) Vyatireka differs from viruddha rilpaka in that the distinction is
specified for both the subject and object, giving the subject a positive
content (Werteriberg), whereas, in viruddha, the inadequacy alone of
the subject is shown, hence the name "obstructed".
Cf upama rilpaka. This subfigure is vyatireka alaf[lkara expressed
in the form of a metaphor, just as upama rilpaka was a simile expressed as a metaphor. In the more formal classifications which
follow Dal}gin, such combinations would be relegated to the etcetera
category saf[lkfr(la, q.v.
vyasta, 'separate': (1) same as asamasta. (2) D 2.68. (5) Used only in
the term samastavyasta.
suddha, 'simple': (1) a non-complex rilpaka without subsidiary metaphors
of any kind. (2) R 8.46 (48), M 143. (3) kaJ,z pilrayed ase$an kaman
upasamitasakalasaf[ltapaJ,z ! akhiliirthinaf[l yadi tvaf[l na syaJ,z kalpadrumo rajan (Rudrala: "Who would fulfill the numberless wishes of your
suitors, 0 King, were you not the veritable tree of desire through
256
GLOSSARY
croaking for its mate which is the specter of Hell" (Joyce Cary;
the principal, mankind, has its parts, one man, two men, three men,
etc., severally identified with uuinterrelated objects). (5) In popular
nsage, a "mixed metaphor" has a much wider application. The
majority of current examples would probably fall into other categories thau riipaka; for example: "The crowued heads of Europe
were quaking in their boots", where "heads" is an example of
vakr6kti II (lak$a1;!ii) and "quaking ..." an example of utprek$ii.
But the essential poiut-a lack of parallelism in multiple figurative
predication-is well illustrated by the present case. The clearest
instance is riipaka, for all the terms-subject, object, and aspects-are
there necessarily explicit; in utprek$ii and vakr6kti II (lak$a!Jii),
the subject is implied by a sort ,,(Shorthand. Some mixed metaphors
may not be vicious, as the exampl7s show. Cary's mixtnre serves a
specific poetic purpose in that iti~'\'feases the emphasis of the sequence itself. In ayukta riipaka, am()r~.explicit opposition in the
objects of identification is required, making the metaphor more
mixed than this.
samasta, 'compounded': (I) a riipaka in which the subject and object of
identification are compounded into a single granuuatical word,
the subject preceding. (2) D 2.68 (66). (3) biihulatii ptil)ipadmalll
caraIJapaliavab (DaI.l<;lin; three separate examples: "Arm-vines, handlotuses, foot-buds"). (4) "The weeds wear moon mist mourning
veils" (Carl Sandburg). (5) English is sufficiently like Sanskrit to
permit a valid illustration of this grammatical point. A riipaka is
the identification of a subject (literal) with an object (figurative).
This identificatidn may be accomplished by the simple assertion of
an identity lesee asamasta), but it may also repose upon an implication grounded upon a granuuatical feature of the language, namely,
that the last member of a compound alone has a direct relation to
the rest of the sentence (it carries the case termination, plural
termination, etc.). The first member has syntactical reality only
through the second and therefore is subordinated to and is taken
when possible as an equivalent of the second. Through grammatical
identification, concrete identification is implied. Now, into this
syntactic framework the poet inserts words freely and particularly
seeks those expressions whose intuitive or logical structure differs
from that, implied and ready made, of the granuuar. Such is "moon
mist mourning veils", where the literal and primary fact, "mist",
is granuuatically sUb<;>rdinated, in the manner described above, to
GLOSSARY
257
and through this confusion of primacy and subordination on different levels, the identification of the two terms is accomplished. In
the phrase "dear tiger-lily, fanged and striped" (Conrad Aiken),
the literal fact and the grammatically defined primary term coincide
in "lily". Here is no instance of identification, because the consistency of the various levels reasserts a fortiori the literally acceptable
subordination of the first term: "lily like a tiger". For this reason,
the Indian aestheticians consider such compounds upamti (simile),
not metaphor. The degree of subordination is limited by the intuitive possibilities of the terms involved. The compound "milkmachine" is neither a riipaka nor an upamii, for the subordination is
merely teleological and can have nothing to do with the representation of the terms themselves. Which is to say, in Pfu).inean phraseology, that tatpuru$a compounds can be figurative only when they
are karmadhiiraya, where both members have the same case relationship (samtinlidhikaralJatva). We have, however, one skew case in
English, as in Virginia Woolf's phrase "gauze of evening": there is
not much question that this is a metaphor in the Indian sense, as it
identifies the evening (subject) with gauze (object). It does not mean
"the gauze belonging to evening"; it is the equivalent of "eveningganze", but since English does not offer the same facility for compounding as Sanskrit, poets employ this "of" of identification (see
Twain's example under samastavastuvi$aya). A case relationship
implying subordination is used to indicate equivalence. We may
ordainfor English a karmadharayagarbhatatpuru$asamiisa. Such an
"of" of identification must be carefully distinguished from the other
"ofs": a sine qua non is that'the granuuatically independent term
(ganze) is the representation of the term thereto snbordinated (evening), as "moon mist mourning veils". In the example: "And there
the lion's ruddy eyes I Shall flow with tears of gold" (William Blake),
"tears of gold" does not satisfy this criterion; rather, "gold" is a
representation of "tears", and we have upamti, not ritpaka.
'referring to the entire thing': (I) a riipaka in which
samastavastnvi~aya,
Db
258
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
dadhati candramudrakapale nyastalfl siddhiiiijanaparimaialfl laiichanasya cchalena (Mammata; the principal subject "night" is identified
with the principal object "beggar woman"; their respective parts
are the subjects of various subordinate identifications: "moonlightash smeared body", "stars-beads", "moon-bowl", etc.: "The beggar
woman of the night, white with the smeared ash of moonbeams,
who wears a necklace of stars and shows great interest in hidden
things, wanders from island to island gathering in the begging bowl
of the moon fragrances and magic ointments, dark appearing").
(4) "We see bursting upon us the domes and steeples of Saint Paul,
giant young chief of the North ... carving his beneficent way with
the tomahawk of commercial enterprise, sounding the war whoop of
Christian Culture, tearing off tlif' reeking scalp of sloth and superstition" (Mark Twain). (5) In distinguishing this metaphor from ekadeiavivarti, the important thing i~::f~at none of the aspects of the
subject be descriptively treated (nor identified metaphorically).
Samastavastuvi~aya is the type of complex rupaka whose many
variations herein described are simply the non-identification of
one or another characteristic part: qvayava (the principal subjectobject), avayavi (the subordinates), ekdiiga (the principal and some
subordinates), and vi~ama (some subordinates). All these terms are
types of ekadeiavivarti, but only DaJ:l<;lin goes beyond the basic
distinction to elaborate types of partiality. The relation of the submetaphors to the main metaphor is that of a part or aspect to the
whole. For a discussion of other kinds of subordination, see
paralflparita and. viSe~aQa rupaka.
samastavyasta, 'compounded and separate': (I) two rupakas in the same
expression, one of which is in the form of a compound word, the
other not. (2) D 2.68. (3) smi/alfl mukhendor jyotsna (DaJ:l<;lin: "The
smile is the beam of her face-moon"). (4) "Walled in by towering
stone- / Peaked margin of antiquity's delay" (Allen Tate). (5) This
is paralflparita rupaka defined in a purely formal fashion, without
reference to the kind of relation existing between two metaphors.
samlidhlina, 'justification': (I) a rupaka in which a justification is offered
for a previously expressed inconsistency in the metaphor. (2) D 2.92.
(3) mukhendur api te caQ<!i malfl nirdahati nirdayam / bhagyado~an
mamaiva (Dat;l<;lin: "Even the moon of your face, 0 cruel girl,
consumes me fierily! Such is the defect of my fate !"). (4) "LION: ...
For all the rest, / Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain /
At large discourse while here they do remain. THESEUS: I wonder
259
llitlinuprlisa
llitlinnprlisa, 'Gujarati alIiteration': (I) same as latiya, a type of anuprasa.
(2) U 1.8-10. (5) Udbhata considers it a separate alalflkara.
lesa
lesa (I), 'trace': (I) a figure in which a pretext is alleged to cover an
embarrassing or otherwise unpleasant situation. (2) D 2.265 (26667). (3) anandfisru pravrttalfl me kathalfl dr~tvaiva kanyakam / ak~i
me pu~parajasaviit8ddhatena kampi/am (DaJ:l<;lin; the lover is ashamed
to admit his tears of joy: "Why should I cry for joy at the sight of
that maiden? My eyes are only bothered by some wind-blown
flower pollen"). (4)" 'I was a-stannin' heah, an' de dog was astannin' heah; de dog he went for de shell, gwine to pick a fuss wid
it; but I didn't; I says, "Jes' make youseff at home heah; lay still
whah you is, or bust np de place, jes' as you's a mind to, but I's got
260
261
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
vakra
vakra, 'crooked': (I) an artha sle~a in which underlying the doubleentendre is a further equivocation ofmood (rasa). (2) R 10.9. (3)
iikramya madhyaddalfl vidadhat salflviihanalfl tathflfigiiniim / patali
karaf.z kancyiim api tava nirjitakiimarupasya (Rudrata; taking the
nouns as names of countries gives one rasa (vira), as parts of the
female anatomy, another (srfigiira); "Overcoming Madhyadesa
[grasping her waist], sending your army against [caressing] the Aiigas
[her limbs], your hand has fallen even on Kaiici [on her girdle], 0
you who has conquered Kamariipa [hested the Love God]"). (4)
"License my roving hands, and let them go / Before, between, behind,
above, below. / Oh, my America, my Newfoundland, / My kingdom's
safest when with one man manned" (John Donne). (5) Here the
equivocation is thought of on two levels: literal (the word itself
having two meanings) and contextual (the two literal meanings
implying contrary or contradictory emotions). As such, there are
four meanings here being punned, and the form presents a uice
problem to the dhvani theorist: is the sle~a here subordinate to the
expression of the rasa, or vice versa?
vakrilkti
vakrilkti (I), 'evasive speech': (I) a figure in which a rejoinder is appended
to a certain remark, either by the speaker or another, in such a way
262
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
263
viikoviikya
viikoviikya, 'dialogue': (I) a figure containing a remark and a reply.
(2) AP 342.32-33. (5) Viikoviikya may be divided iuto rjukti and
vakrokti. The latter is the well-known alalflkiira of Rudrata and
Mammata cousisting of a reply wWch consciously mistakes the content of the questiou; irouy. J!.jukti is defined as 'inherent' (sahaja)
speech, perhaps conversation. Again the scope of the figures is
demonstrated (ef bhiivika). Viikoviikya constitutes the sixth sabdiilalflkiira. Other figures involving conversation are prasna and uttara.
viistava
viistava, 'descriptive': (I) a generic term for those figures which are
neither comparative nor hyperbolic. (2) R 7.9-10. (5) Rudrata
intends those figures which are more rhetorical than poetic, involving
arrangemeuts and sequences of terms, or descriptive intimations.
The list is given in 7.11-12. See aupamya, atMaya, and sle$a.
vidarsanii
vidarsanii, 'making apparent': (I) a figure in wWch a similitude is suggested by attributing to one subject a property which is characterized
as really belonging to another. (2) V 5.10. (3) vinoeitena patyii ea
rupavaty api kiimini I vidhuvandhyavibhiivaryii/l prabibharti visobhatiim (Vdbhata: "A girl without a husband, though she be beautiful,
offers a sight rivalling in ugliness the moonless night"). (4) "In
phrases full of the audible equivalents of Capital Letters, he now
went on to assure Mr. Stoyte ... " (Aldous Huxley). (5) Just as one
woman cannot carry the ugliness of something else, so capital letters
cannot be an attribute of the spoken word; nevertheless, the adjunction suggests comparability-of the woman and the night, of
audible and visible sententiousness.
But for the example wWch Vdbhata offers, this figure would be
indistinguishable from nidarSanii II of Mammata, for the definitions
are almost equivalent. In Mammata, the rapprochement is via a
similar or common result, and two distinct verbs underlie the contrast;
here there is but one verb, which does not apply literally to .the sense
expressed, and the rapprochement is simply with the object of that
verb, as taken figuratively. This figure is perhaps a "portmanteau"
of nidarsanii.
A second type is mentioned by Vdbhata in the definition, wherein
the two situations are in fact related, but no example is offered.
264
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
265
266
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
"inflames": "How can this doe-eyed girl perform such wonders? She
both soothes and inflames me from a, distance, yet she resides in
my heart !"). (4) "It's bad when they think well of you, Cokey,
because you get to think too much of yourself. And it's bad when
they think badly of you because you may get to think badly of them.
Take your mind off your work" (Joyce Cary; "think well" and
"think badly").
gtU]a, 'attribute': (1) a type of virodha where the iucompatibility is that
of two (adjectivally stated) attributes of the subject. (2) R 9.35, M
167. (3) satatalfl musaliisakta bahutaragrhakarmaghatanaya nrpate I
dvijapatnfnalfl kathinal; sati bhavati karal; sarojasukumaral; (Mammala; "harsh" and "soft": "The hands of the Brahmin ladies,
busily attached to the duties of the home, forever making foods and
sauces, have become rough; yet in your preseuce, King, those hands
are lotus soft!"). (4) "Behold a critic, pitched like the castrati, I
Imperious youugling, though approaching forty" (Theodore Roethke). (5) DaJ,lc;liu gives an (unclassified) example which, though based
ou gu~a, does not show virodha in any accepted sense: "tanumadhyalfl
267
",,--u
268
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
269
vise~a
vise~a
.....
270
271
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
(4) "Mine eye and heart are at a mortal war, / How to divide the
conqnest of thy sight; / ... My heart doth plead that thon in him
dost lie, / A closet never pierced with crystal eyes, / Bnt the defendant
doth that plea deny, / And says in him thy fair appearance lies"
(Shakespeare; the same idea as in the Prakrit example with the added
fillip that the various "residences" of"her" are considered contestants;
cf the figure pratyanika).
vise~a (III): (I) a figure in which a single cause is represented as producing,
in addition to its usual effect, another, literally impossible effect.
(2) R 9.9 (10), M 203. (3) likhitaltl biilamrgak$yii mama manasi
graven in my mind"). (4) "Why ~.tte about thy wrist, / Julia, this
silken twist; / For what other reason is't/Bnt to show thee how, in
part / Thou my pretty captive art? / But thy bond-slave is my heart
..." (Robert Herrick). (5) Compare asaltlgati, where the only effect
produced is literally impossible. The present case seems to be the
combination of an ordinary hetu with asaltlgati.
vise~llkti
vise~llkti
even a daughter of the Gods, she could still disrupt the penances of
Brahma!"). (4) '''I know I'm not a great novelist', he will tell you.
'When I compare myself with the giants I simply don't exist.... All
I want people to say is that I do my best .... And after all, the
proof of the pudding is in the eating: The Eye of the Needle sold
272
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
down to his reading again, and he sauntered along by the brook and
stood leaning against the stiles, with eager, intense eyes, which looked
as if they saw something very vividly; but it was not the brook, or
the willows, or the fields or the sky" (George Eliot). (5) This figure is
just the inverse of vise~{)kti I, where the effect is present, the contributing cause absent. But, as Mammata shows, a clever scholiast
can turn black into white; he cites the example, originally from
Bhiimaha, which we have given under viSe~{)kti I and interprets it:
"Deprivation of body is usually followed by deprivation of power;
this does not happen in the case ofLove, whose power is unimpaired."
By taking as the effective cause the very deficiency which other
writers allege, the same example can be made to prove contraries.
The influence of Sanskrit logic, where double negatives are the
preferred modes of exposition (e.g., concomitance is the non-existence
of mutual absence), upon Mammata is evident, to the detriment of
his poetics.
Udbhata and Mammata subdivide into several classes: the explanation for the non-operation is given (nimittadr~!i) or left to
inference (nimittfidr~ti). Mammata adds in logical fashion a third
category-where the explanation is quite beyond us (acintyanimitta)
-but he gives the same example as for nimittadr~!i!
acintyauimitta, 'inconceivable cause': (1) a type of viSe~{)kti II whose
distinctiveness is questionable. (2) M 163. (5) See viSe~{)kti II.
The example offered is identical with that of anuktanimitta viSe~{)kti
(see nimittadmi).
annktanimitta, 'whose cause is not expressed': (1) same as nimittadr~!i
viSe~{)kti. (2) M 163.
nktauimitta, 'whose cause is expressed': (1) same as nimittadr~!i viSe~{)kti.
(2) M 163.
uimittadnti, 'evidence of cause': (1) a type of viSe~{)kti II in which an
explanation is given for the unexpected non-operation of the cause.
(2) U 5.5, M 163. (3) itthaf[l visaf[l~!hulaf[l dmva tavakinaf[l vice~!itam/
nOdeti kimapi pranum satvarasyapi me vacab (Udbhata; the reason
why he didn't speak is given; it was Parvati's stumbling gait: "Seeing
your hesitating gait, no words arose to put a question, though I was
eager"). (4) "Miss Thorne declared that she was delighted to
have Mrs. Bold and Dr. Stanhope still with her; and Mr. Thorne
would have said the same, had he not been checked by a yawn, which
he could not suppress" (Anthony Trollope). (5) The figure is called
uktanimitta in Mammata.
ratho yanta vikalo vi~ama hayab / akramaty eva tejasvi tathapy arko
nabhastalam (Dat;l<;!in; references are to the disc of the sun, the seven
days of the week, and the dawn, said to be anuru, 'lacking thighs':
"The burning sun still courses through the heavens, though his
chariot has but;pne wheel, his steeds are uneven, and his driver
maimed"). (4) "As I walked along the winding road ... I mused
upon what I should say. Do they not tell us that style is the art of
omission? If that is so I should certainly write a very pretty piece"
(Somerset Maugham; the author's style is present, but its form is a
bit unusual).
vise~6kti (II): (1) a figure wherein no effect obtains despite the presence
of an effective cause. (2) U 5.4, M 163. (3) nidranivrttav udite dyuratne sakh'ijane dvarapadaf[l parapte/ slathikrtasle~arase bhujalflge cacala
nalifiganato'figana (Mammata; the causes for awakening are present,
273
.I
274
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
275
vi~ama
vi~ama
276
GLOSSARY
vyatire~,,,,
vyatireka (I), 'distinction': (I) a figure wherein two notoriously similar
things are said to be subject to a point of difference; usually the
subject of comparison is stated to excel the object, surpassing the
norm of its own comparability; hencq, an inverted simile. (2) B 2.75
(76), D 2.180-98, V 4.3.22, U 2.6, R 7.86-89, M 159. (3) kuvalayavanaffl pratyakhyataffl navaffl madhu ninditaffl hasitam amrtaffl
bhagnaffl sviidol.z padaffl rasasafflpadal.z / vi~am upahitaffl cintavyajiin
manasy api kaminaffl caturamadhurair matantrais tavlirdhavilokitail.z
(Vamana: "The lotus forest repudiated! The new springtime has
been put to shame! Honey has become a mockery, the state of sweet
satisfaction is ended, and poison, in the guise of longing, has been
put into the minas of lovers by your playful, passionate, coquettish
sidelong glance"). (4) "Eyes, that displace / The neighbour diamond,
and outface / That sunshine by their own sweet grace" (Richard
Crashaw). (5) The most extensive anatomies of this figure are given
by DaI}gin and Mammata and rest upon the same sorts of criteria.
Dal}gin divides first, into those dissimilitudes whose common
property is expressed (Sabdopadana), and second, into those where
it is implicit (pratfyamiina). Ma=ata follows suit, but subdivides
the former category as to whether a verbal or nominal similitude is
expressed (sabda, artha). Both authors admit formal criteria
depending upon the number, character, and scope of the differential
qualifications which express the dissimilitude (eka, ubhaya, iidhikya,
hetu). In the Sanskrit texts considered, there is but one example
offered of a vyatireka' whose fuuction is to extol the object at the
GLOSSARY
277
278
279
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
to anns, I And drew and thousand ships to Tenedos, I Had not been
nam'd in Homer's Iliads" (Christopher Marlowe; Tamburlaine
praises his dead Zenocrate). (5) Here the interest resides in the form
the differentiation takes: we have only concessive similitude, so that
the distinction has the aspect ofa refutation of that similitude. UsuaIly, the similitude is unflinchingly admitted. Marlowe, however,
aIlows Helen her virtues only so long as the accidents of time are
respected; the similitude of Zenocrate and Helen is in fact a fiction
whose only purpose is to lead the unsuspecting reader to a more
forceful perception ofthe pre-eminence ofthe former. In the Sanskrit
example, the similitude is introduced by the word api, the discrimination by eva. This has the advanti\ge ofmaking the concession explicit.
lidhikya, 'superabundance': (I) a type of vyatireka in which both the
pre-eminence of the subject of comparison and the defectiveness of
the object in respect of the crite~$1 of differentiation are stated.
(2) D 2.192 (191). (3) abhriiviliisa"; QspNtamadariigalp mrgek~a/Jam I
idalp tu nayanadvandvalp tava tadgu/Jabhii$itam (DaJ.l<;lin: "The doe's
glance is unrelieved by coquettish brows, untouched by love's heady
passion; your two eyes redeem this lack"). (4) "Mr. Irwine was like
a good meal 0' victual, you were the better for him without thinking
on it, and Mr. Ryde was like a dose 0' physic, he gripped you and
wOITeted you, and after all he left you much the same" (George
Eliot; two preachers are being distinguished; note the subordinate
comparisons). (5) In bhedamiitra, the bare distinction is made
between the two things, and there is no expression of pre-eminence
since the distinction is entirely circumstantial. Note the subordination of the similes to the synchisis: a common "salpsr~ti" in English.
obhaya, 'both': (I) a type of vyatireka in which the point of difference is
made explicit for both things being distinguished. (2) D 2.184 (183).
(3) abhinnave!au gambhiriiv amburiisir bhavtin api I astiv aiijanasaiiktisas tvalp tu ctimikaradyutil; (DaJ.l<;lin: "You, 0 King, and the ocean
both are deep and limitless, bnt it has the appearance of coIlyriom
and you that of gold!"). (4) "Old black rooks flapping along the
sky and old black taxicabs flapping down the street" (Joyce Cary).
(5) Cf eka vyatireka, where the difference of one term only is given.
eka, 'one': (I) a type of vyatireka in which the point of difference is made
explicit for only one of the things being distinguished,. (2) D 2.182
(181). (3) dhairya!tiva/Jyagtimbhiryapramukhais tvam udanvatal; I
gU/Jais tu!yo'si bhedas tu vapu~aivedrsena te (DaJ.l<;lin: "You are indeed
similar to the ocean in steadfastness, kindness [saltiness] and depth;
however, you differ as to your aspect"). (4) "'I like the front
window', I said, 'for the view. As good as a RoIls. Better; higher
and not the same responsibility not to run over the poor'" (Joyce
Cary; in a London bus). (5) There is, of course, no mystery about
how the distinction applies to the other term (it being only the converse); the point is that for that term, the appropriate qualification is
only suggested (the ocean has another form; the driver of the RoIls
has a responsibility). Cf ubhaya.
gamyamlioa, 'being understood': (I) same as pratiyamtina vyatireka.
(2) V 4.3.22C.
jliti, 'genus': (I) a type of vyatireka in which an instance, usuaIly figurative,
is distinguished from its own genus by pointing out the sense in
which it is figurative. (2) D 2.198 (197). (3) aratna!okasalphtiryam
ahtiryalp siiryarasmibhil; I dr~tirodhakaralp yiintilp yauvanaprabhavalfl
tamal; (DaJ.l<;lin: "The passionate darkness bam of youth which
obstructs the vision of the young is impenetrable even to the clear
briIliance of jewels and cannot be dispeIled by the rays of the sun").
(4) "He had merely meant to express his feeling that the streams which
ran through their veins were not yet purified by time to that perfection, had not yet become as genuine an ichor, as to be worthy of
being caIled blood in a genealogical sense" (Anthony TroIlope; here
common blood is distinguished from noble blood, but the principle
is the same). (5) This amounts to specifying the two senses of a
legitimate double-entendre, insofar as one meaning is literal and
the other figurative. Cf s!e~a, where the duplicity of meaning is
founded upon a pun, not a double-entendre.
dntaota, 'example': (I) a type of vyatireka in which the distinction is cast
in the form of proposition and example, and where the example
involves the contrary property or aspect. (2) iU 2.7. (3) Sir/Japar1Jambuvtitiisaka~te' pi tapasi sthitam I samudvah~ntilp [Umtilp] napiirvamgarvamanyatapasvivat (Udbhata: "Uma was not overborne by
unprecedented pride like other ascetics, whose privations were made
difficult by a diet of withered leaves, water, and air"). (4) "I may be
nothing but an old failure, having muffed just about everything I
ever put my hand to; I seem to have the Midas touch in reverse"
(Saul BeIlow). (5) Udbhata says that this figure is the same as
vaidharmya dr${anta. This is a curious point, because Udbhata is
the first known writer to mention dr~tanta as a figure, and among
the later writers, only Mammata recoguizes a vaidharmya subtype.
Of course, all the figures ultimately go back to sources unknown
...
rim
280
281
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARy
to us (in the sense, at least, that the writers never tell us when they
are innovating), but here is an example of a notion refuted before
it is stated. The issue is not major, for it reduces to a decision
as to which of the two figures (dr${anta, vyatireka) here combined is primary, and that seems to depend on the intention of
the speaker. In the example from Saul Bellow, the distinction seems
more important than the illustration (he is not looking around for
un mot juste at any rate).
nimittadr~ti, 'whose cause is evident': (I) a type of vyatireka in which a
cause explains the pre-eminence of the subject. (2) U 2.6. (3)
padmalJ ca niSi nibrikarrz divii candrarrz ca ni$prabham / sphuracchiiyena satatarrz mukhenadhab pra/fyrvatim [Umiim] (Udbha\a; Uma's
face surpasses both the lotus and the moon because it is beautiful
both by day and by night: "Un;>a, conquering with her everradiant face the lotus, at night url19yely, and the moon, dull by
day").
(4) "Return sweet Evening ... / Not sumptuously adorned, nor
needing aid, / Like homely featured Night, of clustering gems; /
A star or two, just twinkling on thy brow, / Suffices thee" (William
Cowper).
nimittdr~ti, 'whose cause is not evident': (I) a type of vyatireka in which
the cause of the subject's pre-eminence is only hinted at. (2) U 2.6.
(3) sii gauri sikhararrz gatvii dadarMmiirrz tapabkrsiim / riihupitaprabhasy@ndorjayantirrz duratas tanum (Udbha\a; the explanation-the
eclipse-is not given: Rahu is unable to obscure the moon for long,
whereas Uma's pale and intense tapas is coustant; "Gaurl, gone to
the mountain peak; saw Uma, frail through penance but conquering
from afar the beauty of the pale, eclipsing moon"). (4) "I think
that I shall never see / A billboard lovely as a tree. / Perhaps unless
the billboards fall, / I'll never see a tree at all" (Ogden Nash; why
trees are preferable to billboards is left to onr imagination). (5)
Udbhata subdivides vyatireka only in this way (cJ. nimittadT${i);
now, any distinctive qualification can be taken as a cause of dissimilitude or pre-eminence, but it seems that we should take Udbhata
more literally than that, and see his cause to be an effective and not
merely formal cause. Eka and ubhaya vyatireka concern distinctive
qualifications only as forms. In hetu vyatireka, the discrimination is
itself given the form of a cause; in the present case, the cause is
taken to mean the explanation of that discrimination.
pratiyamana, 'being understood, implicit': (I) a type of vyatireka in
1.
....
-----'-
282
283
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
good fortune [beauty]; unlike the full moon, he need never suffer
decrepitude [enter the waning phase]"). (4) "a politician is an arse
upon / which everyone has sat except a man" (e. e. cummings).
(5) In Dan<;\in's example, the qualifications which serve to discriminate
the two things are also punned: "tva/fl samudras ca durviirau maMsattvau satejasau / aya/fl tu yuvayor bhedal;z sa ja4iitmii pa!ur bhaviin"
("You and the ocean, 0 King, are indomitable [uncrossable], of
great character [containing many substances], violent [stormy]; this,
however, is the difference between you: the ocean is cold [stupid]
souled; you, however, are acrid [keen witted]"). Compare: "When I
am dead, I hope it may be said: / 'His sins were scarlet, but his
books were read'" (Hilaire Belloc).
sadrsa, 'similar': (I) a type of vyatireka in which the distinction is itself
cast in terms which suggest comparable aspects of the two things.
(2) D 2.192 (193-95). (3) candro'yam ambarotta/flso ha/flso'ya/fl
toyabhii~alJam / nabho nak~atramiilldam utphu/lakumuda/fl payal;z
(Dan<;\in; the four terms are distinguished, but all are expressed as
ornaments of the distinguishing feature: "The moon is an ornament
of the sky, the swan adorns the lake; the skY has a necklace of stars,
the lake is abloom with lotuses"). (4) "That punctual servant of all
work, the sun, had just risen, and begun to strike a light on the
morning of the thirteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and
twenty-seven, when Mr. Samuel Pickwick burst like another sun
from his slumbers, threw open his chamber window, and looked
out upon the world beneath" (Charles Dickens). (5) This is instead
of stating the distinction as an adjunction to the description of the
similarity of the two things (cf sabdopiidiina).
samasta, 'conjoined': (I) same as ubhaya or iidhikya vyatireka. (2) R
7.86 (88). (5) Cf vyasta. Rudrala's classification stops at this
distinction. His intention is probably closer to the iidhikya of Dan<;\in,
since there it is a question explicitly of pre-eminence and inferiority,
not just of distinctive qualifications applied to both terms.
sabetu, 'including the cause': (I) same as nimittadr~!i vyatireka. (2)
M 160. (5) Mammala distinguishes four types, according to whether
the cause for the discrimination is given for both, for one or the
other, or for neither of the two compared things. He offers examples
only for the first category.
hetn, 'cause': (1) a type of vyatireka in which the distinctive qualification
is cast in the form of a cause (of that difference). (2) D 2.186 (188).
(3) vahann api mahi/fl krtsnii/fl sasailadvipasiigariim / bhartrbhiiviid
284
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
285
286
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
never be able in my life to repay you [get even with you]"). (4)
"When other fair ones to the shades go down / Still Chloe, Flavia,
Delia, stay in town: / Those ghosts of beauty wandering here reside,
/ And haunt the places where their honour died" (Alexander Pope;
the pun is on two kinds of death). (5) Both examples show apparent
praise which is blame. This Sie$a differs from vyajastuti alalflkara
only in that a pun is at the bottom of the irony. It is perfectly
possible, ofcourse, to express such pretence of praise without actually
employing puns.
vyajastuti
vyajastuti, 'deceptive eulogy': (1) a figure in which apparent blame conceals real praise or appreciation. (2) B 3.30 (31), D 2.343-47, V
4.3.24, U 5.9, R 10.11 (12-13), M 169. (3) pUlflsaiz pura~tid acchidya
sris tvaya paribhujyate / rajann'/k;$vakuvalflsyasya kim idalfl tava
yujyate (Dal1J;lin; Sri is the wife of-ViglU: "0 King, you have stolen
Sri [prosperity] from her former spouse and enjoyed her! Can this
deed be condoned in the scion of the IkFiiku clan ?"). (4) "The poor
. man's sins are glaring; / In the face of ghostly warning / He is caught
in the fact / Of an overt act- / Buying greens on Sunday morning"
(T. L. Peacock; really a defense of the lower classes). (5) The earlier
writers consider only the case of blame concealing praise (although
Da114in in his unique interpretation of the figure aprastutaprasalflsa,
considers it to be blame concealed as praise of something irrelevant).
But Rudrala and Mammala extend the figure and take account of
the other pos.sibility-that of praise concealing blame: "tvaya
madarthe samupetya dattam idalfl yathti bhogavate sariram I tathdsya
te diUi krtasya sakya pratikriydnena na janmana me (Rudrala; for
translation, see vyaja); or: "Lament him, Mauchline husbands a', /
He often did assist ye; / For had ye staid whole weeks awa', /
Your wives they ne'er had missed ye" (Robert Burns; "praise" of
the gay deceased).
Rudrala groups this figure with those based upon a pun. See
vyaja.
vyajokti
vyajokti, 'pretext': (1) same as lesa I. (2) V 4.3.25, M 184.
sabda
sabda, 'word': (1) a gelleric term for those figures whose poetic effect
sabd~rtha,
i
i
e/,\"
287
sabdilrtha
'word-sense': (1) a generic term used to indicate those in-
288
GLOSSARY
sle~a,
GLOSSARY
289
290
GLOSSARY
Ii
ill
GLOSSARY
291
i
4
292
GLOSSARY
the figure (that is, the idea it expresses), since, as has been noted,
sle$a can be associated with almost any other figure-not merely
in the sense ofadjunction of two figures, but as an essential element
in the expression of that other figure's idea. That is why most later
writers resort to what amounts to a formal, or grammatical, classification of subtypes.
The earliest writer, Bhamaha, who treats s!i${a as a variety of
metaphor (rupaka), gives two independent classifications; the identity
of the subject and the object can be expressed in any of three aspects:
adjectival qualification (gUlJa), mode of activity (kriya), or essence
(nama). (These correspond to the grammatical triad adjective,
verb, and noun, but Bhamaha'sjJ;ltention is not to equate them with
the formal categories, at least in the sense that he treats primarily
the aspects of the thing thereby~xpressed.) Secondly, Bhamaha
notes that s!i${a can be associate<i\With three other almrzkaras:
sahOkti, hetu, and upama. Oddly, he give'" only three examples for
tbese six types, eacb exemplifying one term of eacb triad (altbough
tbe triads bave no relation to one anotber).
DaJ)Qin also gives two classifications, and one of tbem recognizes
tbe formal aspect of sle$a, for tbe pboneme span whicb expresses
tbe double-entendre may consist of tbe same words for botb senses
(abhinnapada), or of different words (bhinnapada). (Compare
"another footing now", using the same words, with "moonshine's
GLOSSARY
293
two (hence unpunned) nouns may constrnct witb one verb [abhinnakriya], with two verbs wbicb are different in sense [aviruddhakriya],
or witb two verbs wbicb are contrary in sense [viruddhakarman].
Neitber tbe nouns or tbe verbs are punned; tbe puns reside only in
tbe adjectives pertaining to the nouns. Having tbus introduced tbe
verb into tbe system, Da!].Qin proceeds to state tbe possible relations
between the two senses of tbe pun: they. may be entirely different,
but consistent (avirodhin), contradictory (virodhin), tbey may be two
aspects of the same concept (niyamfik$eparupa), or, finally, an aspect
and the concept itself (niyamavat). Da!]'Qin is tbe only writer wbo
sbows metaphysical ability in tbe organization of his classifications;
tbis one is extremely interesting in laying bare the generic kinds of
oppositions wbicb any two meanings may bave: tbey will eitber be
indifferent or generically related; if indifferent, tben eitber compatible
or contradictory, if generic, tben eitber as species or as genus and
species. Needless to say, tbis categorization was not followed by
later writers, wbose interests become more and more formal and
verbal. But it does bave an interesting parallel in the ten types of
artha sle$a whicb Rudraja describes. Tbese, bowever, relate to tbe
kinds of situations in wbicb sle$a can be used and suggest a context
similar to tbat of the dhvani tbeory, ratber tban involving tbe structure of meaning itself.
Vamaua does not subdivide s!e$a. Udbba!a is tbe first to use tbe
terms sabda and artha Sle$a, probably in tbe sense described above,
but since no explanation is contained in the text, we bave only tbe
opinions of commentators to go on, all of wbom were posterior
to tbe writers (notably Rudra!a) wbo developed sabda and artha
Sle$a in great detail. Tbere is always a tendency in sucb cases to read
back into tbe text the later opinions.
Witb Rudra!a, tbe idea of double-entendre reacbes its apogee.
He recognizes tbe distinction of sle$a into sabda and artha, but raises
each to tbe status of an independent subject. Cbapter Four of his
work is devoted to tbe former and Cbapter Ten to tbe latter. Moreover, artha sle$a represents one oftbe four large categories into which
artha alamktiras are divided, tbe others being 'descriptive' (vastava),
'comparative' (aupamya), and 'byperbolic' (atiSaya). Tbe division
implies that artha sle$a is botb comparative and byperbolic (since
"descriptive" is neither comparative nor hyperbolic) and as sucb
represents for Rudra!a the most poetic as well as tbe most interesting
case. Sucb an inference is not entirely witbout plausibility, inasmuch
294
i'i
ii
l!
GLOSSARY
as an artha sle~a does bring together two ideas in such a way that one
heightens the effect of the other (hyperbole). This point is made
clearer in the discussions which accompany the individual figures.
It should be emphasized that mere punning, that is, punning which
is not based on the meanings involved and which does not aim at an
end to which those meanings are relevant, is definitely unacceptable
here. In this sense, too, the concept of artha (sle~a) has acqnired a
positive content; in Dal}<;lin, it was a residual category (a-bhinnapada): that pun which cannot be explained by grammatical exegesis.
The ways in which the two meanings can complement one another
are ten: (a) they can be qualified in the same way (aviSe~a), (b)
or not (virodha); (c) the second may constitnte llattery of the first
(adhika); (d) the pun may siiggest a further contrast of mood
(vakra); (e) one may be llattery" the other reproof-ironic praise
(vyaja); (f) the second meaningq,ay be risque (ukti); (g) the two
meanings may be similar but tiiK~ contradictory qualifications
(asalllbhava); (h) the second meaning may augment the force of an
adjectival description (avayava), or (i) the force of the names
themselves (tattva); (j) and, lastly, if they cannot be qualified in
the same way (case b), the contradiction in qualification may be a
fnnction of the meanings of the terms, rather than a question of
mere negation (virodhiibhiisa).
Rudraja is not less inventive with regard to sabda sle~a. Given
that the two meanings must relate to a different morphemic analysis
of the common span, that difference can be specified in terms of
the kinds of morphemes (form classes) which are thus confused.
Rudraja gives eight examples, starting with the syllable (varva; this
alone is sub-morphemic), stem (pada), gender-indicating suffix
(liiiga), verb root (prakrti), nominal affix (pratyaya; exclnding inllections), inflection (vibhakti; both nominal and verbal), and numberindicating suffix (vacana).
It is clear that the subdivisions of artha are not incompatible with
those of sabda, but it would indeed be rare for an example to be
found showing both grammatical and contextual precocity to such a
degree. Nothing within the realm of human experience is beyond
the power of the Sanskrit language, but we feel that here, at least,
we are straining at the limits.
Mammaja repeats Rndraja's classification of sabda sle~a, but he notices only one "Sle~a" in his chapter on arthiilafllkara. Many ofthe others, however, have been treated as separate figures (e.g., virodhiibhiisa).
GLOSSARY
295
IIi '
I
q
q
I
iI
'I
I
'j
, '
II
!!
296
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
matical or formal feature. (2) U 4.9, 10, R 10.1, M 147. (3) svayafll
ca pallavatamrabhasvatkaravirajini / prabhatasaflldhyeva [bhagavati]
Udbhala; the word kara is taken in two legitimate senses: 'hand'
of Parvati and 'ray' of the dawn: "She is brilliant like the dawn
onrushing, her hands [rays] red gleaming like new buds"). (4) "There
was a young lady from Wantage / Of whom the town clerk took
advantage. / Said the borough surveyor: / 'Indeed you must pay 'er. /
You've totally altered her frontage'" (Anon.; "frontage" in two
senses). (5) We may distinguish three levels of double-entendre or
paronomasia: (a) in which two occurrences of the same etymon
differ as to context, as here ; (b) in which two etyma have the same
phonemic shape; pun, properly speaking; and (c) in which two
words, differing as to phonemiC"shape, are used in such a way as to
suggest cancellation of that difference; plays on words, such as
Ogden Nash has popularized. Th~;~~Jne distinction may be seen in
Sanskrit most clearly where type (alis artha sle~a. It wonld seem
that Sanskrit, so rich in natural puns, does not feel the need to distort
words to obtain unnatural ones (type c); nevertheless, the same kind
of discrimination can be seen firs~, in those puns which require a
different accentuation, as muktasri!; (on the first syllable a bahuvrihi
meaning 'by whom ugliness was dispelled'; on the last, a tatpuru~a
meaning 'beauty of pearls'), and secondly, in those playful puns
where the word divisions of one sense are not the same as those of
the other, as in the pun of Kalidasa 'u meti matra tapaso ni#ddha
pasctld Umakhyafll sumukhijagama" ("from her mother's warning her
"don't, don't (doJapas)", she came to be called Uma'). These types
are generally groUped indiscriminately under sabda sle~a.
aviruddbakriyii, 'unopposed verbs': (1) a type of paronomasia in which
separate verbs accompany each of the senses of the double-entendre.
(2) D 2.314 (317). (3) madhura ragavardhinya!; komala!; kokilagira!; /
akarTJyante madakalti!; sli~yante casitek~aTJa!; (DaJ;l4in: "Lovely,
inspiring passion, soft and low from sipping drink, voices of nightingales are heard and dark-eyed girls are embraced"). (5) The classical form of the pun in Sanskrit is a series of adjectives or qualifications which apply equally to one or another of two given subjects.
Given this form, the present distinction should be understood as an
attempt to include the verb within the frame of reference of doubleentendre, since the two nouns mayor may not be accompanied by
different verbs and, if they are, the verbs mayor may not be opposed
in meaning. It shou!<}'be noted that in these types, the verb is not
297
298
299
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
300
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
301
302
i
Ii"
iii
I
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
the respectable [whose faces are beautiful], leader of good government [of beautiful eyes], praiseworthy [are to be seized]"). (4) "Ben
Battle was a soldier bold, I And used to war's alarms; I But a cannonball took off his legs, I So he laid down his arms" (Thomas Hood;
we might claim here an equivocation between dual and plural. At
least it is a numerical idea which is punned npon). (5) Strictly speaking, no illustration is possible from English since any pun involving
plural-singular contrast (e.g., "rose", "rows") would also involve a
different etymon. Here the point is that the same word lends itself
to two numerically different references. Perhaps a pun could be
found involving the word "sheep" (sing.) and "sheep" (pl.).
varl)a, 'syllable, letter': (1) a type of paronomasia in which the locus ofthe
double-entendre is restricted to a single phoneme. (2) R 4.3, M l19C.
(3) alaiikara!; saiikakaranarakapalal'l' parijano viSfnJdiigo bhriigf vasu
ca Vr$a eko bahuvaya!; I avasthiiyal'l' sthavor api bhavati sarviimaraguror vidhau vakre murdhni sthitavati vayal'l' ke punar amf(Mammata;
the pun is restricted to the syllable -au of vidhau, which happens to
be the locative singular of both vidhi ('fate') and vidhu ('moon'): "His
only ornament is a human skull which inspires fright; his attendant
is Bhplgi, the one who has consumed his own limbs; his wealth is '
one old bull. Such is the condition of Siva, Lord of all the Gods!
Since inscrutable fate [the curved moon] sits on his brow, what
indeed do we mere mortals amount to?"). (4) "Oh, the moon
shines bright on myoid Kentucky home" (Anon.; or: moonshine's).
(5) This category shows a delicacy of interpretation which is truly
astounding: at first glance, this seems to be an instance of pratyaya
SZe$a, where the affix is quite accidentally a single letter. But this
analysis does not stand examination, because in the case of vidhau,
the pratyaya is not punned at all, since it is locative singular in both
cases (we say that the locative singular of both -i and -u stems is -au).
Neither can the pun be attributed to the roots, for they are not the
same (one is -i stem, the other -u stem). It might appear then that we
have a case of vibhakti sle$a, where two inflections have the same
form. But this interpretation, too, is invalid, for it cannot be said
that the locative singular of two form classes is two inflections.
We are left then with the recondite category pun on nomiual form
class, which in this unique instance involves only one syllable: hence
the classification. Our English example is of course fictitious, since
it is, strictly speaking, a case of vibhakti Sle$a (the "-s" being both
present singular of verbs and contraction of the nominal verb),
I!
I'
Ii
Ii
!II
"
~l,
303
I
304
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
305
the sun, however, sinks from sight"). (4) "At Thieves I bark'd, at
lovers wagg'd my tail, I And thus I pleas'd both Lord and Lady
Frail" (John Wilkes; "pleas'd" is the double-entendre; "bark'd"
and "wagg'd", which are opposite in sense, accompany each meaning
of "pleas'd"). (5) TWs figure contrasts with aviruddhakriya, which
has two verbs which are not opposite in sense, and abhinnakriya,
which has one verb only.
virodhin, 'contradicting': (I) a type of paronomasia in which a doubleentendre is snscitated through the resolution of an apparent contradiction between a noun and a qnalification appended on it.
(2) D 2.315 (322). (3) acyuto'py avr$acchedi rajapy aviditak$ayal; I
devo'py avibudho jajfie safikaro'py abhujafigavan (Dal)c,lin: "Althongh
he is Vi~l)u [not deviating from the right way], he has not slain the
demon Vr~a; although the moon [King], he does not know diminuation [never suffers decline]; although a God [King], he is not a God
[not surrounded by wise men]; although Siva [appeasing], he is not
possessed of snakes [questionable friends]"). (4) "Now as they bore
him off the field, I Said he, 'Let others shoot, I For here I leave
my second leg, I And the Forty-second Foot!'" (Thomas Hood).
(5) Nobody has forty-two feet on his leg. The point here is that no
pun would be understood were it not for the juxtaposition of
incompatibles which serves then as the efficient cause of the doubleentendre. Usnally, in Sanskrit punning, the duplicity of meaning is
suscitated by the adjunction of two different things which are said
to have the same qnalifications (see avirodhin). There is no contradiction between the thing and the qualification taken singly.
See aviruddhakriya for notes on form.
ryatireka, 'distinction': (I) see sle$a vyatireka. (2) D 2.313.
sabda, 'word': (I) a type of paronomasia in wWch some point of grammatical interpretation is involved in distinguisWng the meanings of
the double-entendre. (2) U 4.10, M 119. (3) prabhiitasa,!,dhyeva ...
muktasris tvam eva parvat! (Udbhala; applying to Parvati,
muktasrii;l, a bahuvrihi with udiitta accent on the first member; applying to the dawn, an appositive tatpuru$a, "beauty of pearl", with accent on the stem of the final member: "Parvati, by whom ugliness
was abandoned [beautiful as a pearl], is like the onrushing dawn").
(4) "This is how it came to pass that their children were white and
puny; they were suffering from home-sickness" (Samuel Butler;
here is a pun on the compound form "sea-sickness": ordinarily the
compound form "home-sick" does not express a cause, but the ab-
!I
306
307
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
salJls~ti
salJlSf~ti, 'combination': (I) a multiple or compound figure. (2) B 3.4851, D 2.363 (sa1[lkfrva, 2.359), V 4.3.30-33, U 6.5, M 207. (3) (4)
See following discussion for examples. (5) The three terms sa1[lSr$ti,
samkfrna and samkara used in general to refer to the combination
sle$a.
"::"> '
salJlsay,i'
salJl8aya (I) 'doubt': (1) same as sa1[ldeha. (2) R 8.59, 61. (5) See
sa/[ldeha.
salJl8aya (II): (1) a fignre in which tW? similar but discriminable things
are said to be subject to a doubt concerning their respective nature
or mode of action. (2) R 8.65 (66). (3) gamanam adhita/[l ha1[lsais
tvattal; subhage tvayti nu ha1[lsebhyal; / ki/[l sasinal; pratibimba/[l
vadana/[l te ki/[l mukhasya sasf (Rudrata; in the first half sloka, the
I'
i'
308
GLOSSARY
309
GLOSSARY
[
i
'i
310
GLOSSARY
iI
I'::
I:
l:
in fact, a pun referring to the golden earrings of Gaud and to the seed
pods within the lotus (s/e~a); tii~ two fignres share the word ambhojinf ('lotus'): "Don't remain so, <iazzling and giving pleasure only
to the eyes, like a lotus, earringsts9~dpods] of beautifully shaded
gold"). (4) "But the man who fell iii love with Rozzie was the poor
little Peter Pan who wanted to creep back into his mother's womb
and be safe and warm and comfortable for the rest of his life. Isolationist, with nave/ defence", (Joyce C!'ry; same analysis except that
the figures are rupaka and s/e~a). (5) This type is recognized as
such only by Udbhata, who distingnishes it from sal'fldeha sal'flkara:
here the two fignres are partially different and wholly identifiable;
in sal'fldeha, they are expressed in wholly the same words and are
not identifiable. To the naive observer, this type would appear
to be more akin to sal'flSr~ti than to sal'flkara, but the fact that there
is partial coaiescellce is sufficient to make the two fignres constitutive
and "interdependent".
vyaktliJ!lsa, 'whose parts are evident': (1) a type of complex a/al'flkiira
(sal'flkara) in which the component fignres are separable as to the
words which express them. (2) R 10.25. (3) abhiyujya /o/anayanii
siidhvasajanitoruvepathusvedii / aba/i!va vairisenii nrpa janye bhajyate
bhavatii (Rudrata; an upamii in the last half, a pun in the first: "When
:]
I
I
I
i
311
GLOSSARY
attached, its leaders unsteady [eyes rolling], sweat and great trembling
[trembling at the thighs] produced suddenly, the enemy army, like a
young girl, 0 King, is enjoyed by you"). (4) "As lightning, or a
taper's light, / Thine eyes, and not thy noise, waked me" (John
Donne; upamii in the first line, vyatireka in the second). (5) The
example here is identical to that offered by Udbhata to illustrate the
exact inverse (see ekasabdlibhidhiina). But Rudrata takes the
sle~a as confined to/the word which is actually punned, while
sun's orb and its filaments the clearly dancing rays, with a swarm of
bees-the great darkness-clinging to the face of the eight directions"). (4) "Glory be to God for dappled things- / For skies of
couple-colonr as a brinded cow; / For rose-moles all in stipple upon
trout that swim; / Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings; /
Landscape plotted and pieced-fold, fallow, and plough; / And all
trades, their gear and tackle and trim. / All things counter, original,
spare and strange; / Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) /
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; a dazzle, dim; / He fathers-forth whose
beauty is past change: / Praise him" (Gerard Manly Hopkins;
anupriisa and upamii). (5) This type would exemplify sal'flkara or
complex a/al'flkiira, for the same word span may share two or more
figures. It differs from avyaktal'flsa in that the basis of interpretation
is not such that one fignre, once defined, necessarily excludes the
other: here both are conjointly possible and discrete because the
fignres do not refer to the same definand (one refers to phonemic
patterns, the other to morphemic contrasts and usages).
saJ!lkara, 'intermixtnre': (I) a multiple a/al'flkiira. (2) U 5.11, 13, R
10.24-29, M 208-210. (5) See sal'flsr~fi. The term is often used to
signify complex a/al'flkiira as opposed to compound a/al'flkiira.
saqlkirl}a, 'commingled': (I) a multiple a/al'flkiira. (2) D 2.359-363.
(5) See sal'flsr~fi.
saJ!ldeba, 'doubt': (I) same as avyaktal'flsa sal'flkara. (2) U 5.11. (5) Also
called aniScaya in Mammata.
samakak~ata, 'equality': (1) same as vyaktal'flsa sal'flkara or sal'flsnfi.
312
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
salflsr~li.
saIflSr~li.
salpk~epa
ili[:1
I:
;;"
II:!
313
salpdeha
salpdeha, 'doubt': (I) a figure in which tile speaker hesitates to identify
which of two similar things is which; the expression of a similitude
through the affectation of an inability to decide the relative identity
of two things-the subject and object of comparison. (2) B 3.42 (43),
V 4.3.11, U 6.2-3, R 8.59-64, M 138. (3) kim idam linalikulam
asyiil; sargavidhau prajiipatir abMc candro nu kiintiprackll; srfigiiraikarasal; svayalfl nu madano miiso nu pu~pakaral; / vedabhyiisajatjal;
nu vi~ayavyiivrttakautiihalo nirmiitulfl prabhaven manoharam ickllfl
riipalfl puriil)o munil; (Kalidasa, quoted by Rudrata: "The God
ii,'!
Ii,!
Illiiiiill.l.
wi
.'I,.
----------------------------------
314
:'1
I"
I
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
sarna
315
sama, 'together': (I) a figure in which is depicted an appropriate conjunction of events, persons, or qualities. (2) M 193. (3) dhi1tu/; silpdtiSayanika~asthtlnam e~a mrgdk~f / rilpe devo'py ayam anupamo dattapatra/; smarasya / jatal'fl daivat sadrsam anayo/; sal'flgatal'fl yat tad
etat / srfigarasyopanatam adhuna rajyam ekdtapatram (Mammata;
a marriage is described: "This doe-eyed maiden .is the veritable
touchstone of the creator's skill; in beauty, the King is incomparable
and the given vessel of Love itself! That their union should come
about through fate means that the kingdom of Love has been
brought under one umbrella!"). (4) "Happy, happy, happy Pair! /
None but the Brave, / None but the Brave, / None but the Brave
deserves the Fair" (John Dryden). (5) In origin, this figure may simply
be an adverb mistaken for a name in an enumerative verse. The
Agni Purava affirms that the arthdlal'flkara (q. v.) are eight in number
(344.2-3); the chapter is devoted to definitions of them, and from
that text, we learn that the eight are svarilpa (3), stldrsya (5), utprek~a
(25), atisaya (26), vise~okti (27), vibhdvana (28), virodha (29), and
hetu (30). The introductory verse enumerating the eight gives, however, only seven, ignoring viSe~okti. After hetu, the words "samam
a$!adha" ('together, eightfold') close the half verse, presumably to
fill ont the metre. Later commentators and wnters, apparently
iguoring the body of the text, have raised this superfluous adverb
(samam) into the eighth arthdlal'flkara, and it is included in all later
anthologies, starting with Mammata. The Sarasvatikav!hdbharav a,
which follows the Agni Purava closely, does not mention samdlal'flkara. There is a samya, but it refers to intimated similes. If this
interpretation is correct, we have here an excellent instance of the
eclectic resilience of the later encyclopaedists. None of the printed
texts of the Agni Purava, not even the so-called critical edition of
S. M. Bhattacharya, seem to have noticed this anacoluthon.
samiidhi
samiidhi, 'conjunction': (I) a figure in which a desired effect is accomplished
by the coincidental intervention of another and quite irrelevant
cause. (2) M 192. (3) manam asya nirakartul'fl ptldayor me pati~yata/;
/ upakaraya di~!yMam udirQaI'fl ghanagarjitam (Mammata: "As I
fell at her feet to beg respite from her wrath, to my aid came a
great exploding thunderclap"). (4) "I asked professors who teach
the meaning of life to tell me what is happiness. / And I went to
1;:
iii
I'
I
i:
Ii
316
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
317
sarnasilkti
sarnasilkti, 'concise speech': (1) a figure in which the descriptive qualifications of an explicit subject s1)~gest an implicitly comparable object
to which they likewise apply.(2) B 2.79 (80), D 2.205-213, V 4.3.3,
U 2.10, AP 345.17, R 8.67 (68), 148. (3) skandhavtin rjur avytilaiz
sthiro'nekamahtiphalaiz / jtitas tar!;irpyam coccaiiz ptititas ca nabhasvatti(Bhamaha; the description ofthe tree suggests the picture of a
noble man fallen on hard times: "A great tree has grown here, with
.many limbs, erect and without flaws, firm and bestowing many
great fruits; now it has fallen from !ts high place, uprooted by the
wind"). (4) "The young man .. , reached down the boughs where
the scarlet beady cherries hung thick underneath, and tore off
handfull after handfull of the sleek cool-fleshed fruit. Cherries
touched his ears and his neck as he stretched forward, their chill
finger-tips sending a flash down his blood. All shades of red, from
. a golden vermillion to a rich crimson glowed a,nd met his eyes under
a darkness of leaves" (D. H. Lawrence; the description of the tree
suggests the young man's incipient passion), (5) This figure is
easily coiliused with aprastutaprasalf/sti, and any attempt to distinguish sharply the two figures is rendered fruitless by an historical
examination of the relation between them. Though each writer
distinguishes them in his way, none follows exactly his predecessor,
and the same concept is likely to end up on both sides of the definition at one time or other. There are two criteria involved in the
distinction, from which only Dal)gin deviates significantly. The first
is that samtisokti tends to repose on the identity of descriptive
qualifications of two terms: one explicit, the upamtina; one implicit,
the upameya. There is no emphasis placed on the implicit term, thus
making it into the explanation of the occasion of the remark itself.
Aprastutaprasalflsti , on the other hand, generally imposes upon the
terms such an empha$is, and it can function through relations. other
318
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
319
bhinnl\bhinnavise~al}a,
samiihita
samahita (1), 'composed': (1) a figure wherein a similitude serves as the
basis for the total identification of two similar things in the mind of a
particular person; a consciously formulated metaphor. (2) V 4.3.29.
(3) tanvi meghajalardrapallavataya dhautfidhari!viisrubhi!; sunyi!vabharavai!; svakalavirahad viSrantapu~p6dgama I cintamaunam ivasthita madhuliha'!1 sabdair vina lak~yate cavlji mam avadhuya padapatita'!1 jatanutapi!va sa (Vamana; Puriiravas addresses the creeper as
though it were Urvasi: "The thin creeper, its leaves wet with the rain,
is like her lip wet with tears; like her dress without jewels, the creeper
sleeps through its flowerless season without the sound of bees like
my love lost in thought; the cruel thing spurns me fallen at its feet
like my love whom I hurt"). (4) "Sleepily she cuddled up in the fold
of his left arm, her cheek against his heart, though a hard hand which
seemed to be pounding against a wall was trying to wake her np
again; she would just let it go on pounding all it pleased. She had to
sleep some more! ... But now mother was here. Hurriedly she was
transferred into her mother's arms and squeezed almost to a pancake. She had to gasp for breath; nevertheless she snuggled into
320
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
her arms as closely as she could, for she felt, oh, so sleepy! ... But no
peace here, either! Here, too, a hand pounded against a wall. Were
they tearing down the house?" (0. E. Rolvaag; the parents' chests
are represented as a wall). (5) Though the element of confusion is
present objectively, the figure differs from bhrantimat in that the
confusion is subjectively willed, or is at least not the concomitant
of error. The identification of the two things here differs from
riipaka, since the mode of the identification is volitional, not conventional; a stratum of explicit consciousness is overlaid on the identification.
samiihita (II): (1) same as samiidhi. (2) B 3.10, D 2.298 (299).
samnCllllya
samuccaya, 'accumulation': (I) a figure consisting of the multiplication
of descriptive adjuncts to a thing>~~ rpood. (2) R 7.19 (20-26),
7.27 (28-29), 8.103 (104), M 178-79:(3) sukham idam etavad iha
sphiirasphuradindumalJ4ala rajan; / saudhaidla'll kavyakathii suhrdab
snigdhii vidagdhiis ca (Rudrala: "It is so pleasant here! The night is
brilliant with a glimmering moon; here on the palace roof poetry is
read; friends are kind and clever"). (4) "As [the Public] sat, listening
to his speeches, in which considerations of stolid plainness succeeded
one another with complete flatness, they felt, involved and supported
by the colossal tedium, that their confidence was finally assured"
(Lytton Strachey; Lord Hartington is quite a bore). (5) Rudrala
gives many examples showing not different kinds of accumulation,
but differences in the kinds of things accumulated. In general, his
distinctions follo;y, the canonical fourfold pattern of jati, kriya,
gUlla, and dravya.' The accumulation of states, events, or adjuncts is,
of course, desigued to re-enforce the tone of a description, as in
parikara ala'llkara, where the qualifications or epithets alone of a
thing are multiplied. Formally, samuccaya is the same as dipaka
ala'llkara, but in fact the motives underlying their use are diametrically
opposed: here the emphasis is on the quantity of adjuncts; in dipaka,
it is on the single word which bears the syntactical force of the
whole sentence.
sah6kti
sahOkti 'speech coutaining the word "with"': (I) a figure in which two
separate things or ideas are represented as conjoined or occurring
at once. (2) B 3.38 (3Q), 3.17, D 2.351 (352-56), V 4.3.28,U 5.15,
321
322
GLOSSARY
323
GLOSSARY
samya
samya (I), 'likeness': (I) a figure in which the subject of comparison is
represented as fulfilling the function of the object of comparison.
(2) R 8.105 (106). (3) abhisara rama(la1fl kim imii1fl diSam aindrim
iikula1fl vllokayasi ! saSinal; karoti kiirya1fl sakala1fl mukham eva te
mughde (Rudrata: "Go to your lover! Why are you gazing distractedly at the eastern sky? 0 foolish girl, your face is accomplishing
the work of the moon!"). (4) "0 saw ye not fair Ines?! She's gone
into the West,! To dazzle when the sun is down, ! And rob the world
of rest" (Thomas Hood). (5) Cf pihita ala1flkiira, where one quality
superimposes itself upon another. Here the two subjects are not
confused, though their functiqns make them interchangeable.
samya (II): (I) a figure in which the subject and object of comparison
differ only modally. (2) R 8.107 (108). (3) mrga1fl mrglifikal; sahaja1fl
kalafika1fl bibharti tasyiis tu mUlj;haip. kadiicit ! iihiiryam eva1fl
mrganiibhipattram iyiin ase$e(la tayor vise$al; (Rudrata: "The rabbitmarked moon is inherently spotted; her face, however, is only oc.casionally marked with lines of musk. This is the only difference
between them"). (4) "Far more welcome than the spring; ! He that
parteth from you never ! Shall enjoy a spring forever" (William
Browne). (5) In these examples, one of the terms compared is
represented as existing continuously, while the other exists only
temporarily. The figure is thus distinguished from catu upamii
in that the difference there is simply overlooked, and from atisaya
upamii in that the difference is there reduced to the bare fact of
separate existe(ice. All three figures agree in ignoring the concrete
difference between the things compared, that is, their sharing the
common property in different degrees.
sara
sara, 'pith': (I) a figure wherein is expressed a concatenated series such
that each succeeding term expresses a characteristic improvement
in relation to the preceding. (2) R 7.96 (97), M 190. (3) riijye siira1fl
vasudhii vasu1fldhariiyii1fl pura1fl pure saudham ! saudhe talpa1fl talpe
varlifiganlinangasarvasvam (Rudrata: "In the kingdom, the earth is
best, on the earth, the capital, in the capital, your palace, in the
palace, a bed, in the bed, the entire wealth of the Love God-that
beautiful woman"). (4) "The mouth seemed formed less to speak then
to quiver, less to quiver than to kiss, (some might have added) less
to kiss than to curl':C(Thomas Hardy). (5) This figure amounts to a
324
GLOSSARY
this figure is that one of the relations upon which recollection can
be based is similitude, (the ,others are ,contiguity, contemporaneity,
etc.), and such recollection constitutes, an implicit simile. Another
name for this figure is kiivyahetu.
svabhiivilkti
svabhiivilkti, 'telling the nature (of a thing)': (I) a figure in which a natural
or typical individual is characterized. (2) B 1.30, 2.93, D 2.8 (9-13),
U 3.5, R 7.30 (31-33: jati), M 168. (3) dhulidhUsaratanavo riijyasthitiracanakalpitiiikanrpii/:z / krtamukhaviidyavikiirii/:z krit/anti sunirbhararrz t/imbhii/:z (Rudrata: "The children are intent at their play,
bodies gray with dust, one among them chosen to occupy the station
of a king, assuming grave miellsand voices"). (4) "On the day
when I first learned of my father's journey, I had come back with
two companions from 'a satisfactorY,afternoon in the weeds near
Kay's Bell Fonndry,shootinga sIlrtgshQI,at the new bells, which
were lying out in the yard and strung tip on rafters. Struck with
rocks, they made a beautiful. sound, although it seemed to upset
Mr. William Kay, the proprietor. 'His sign, "Maker of Church,
Steamboat, Tavern and Other Bells", hung over the doorway of his
barnlike shop and had a row of little brass bells swinging beneath,
squat and burnished, but these were hard to hit, and if you missed
them, you were apt to hit one of the men working inside, and this
was what seemed to upset Mr. William Kay most of all. So toward
the end of the afternoon he pranced out with a double barreled
shotgun loaded with pepper and blistered Herbert Swann's seat as
he zigzagged to sar~ty through the high grass" (Robert Lewis Taylor).
(5) Both examples describe children at play. The poetic nature of
this figure constitutes one of the longest standing disputes of the
alarrzkiirasiistra. In fact, the oldest writer, Bhamaha, specifically
objects to this figure on the ground that it does not involve vakrokti
or the figurative turn of phrase essential in any poetry. This point
of view is taken up in more detail much later by Kuntaka (Vakroktijivita 1.11). DaJ.l<;lin, however, followed by most of the other
alarrzkiira writers, has included svabhtivokti, although in a much
discussed verse (2.363), he seems to distinguish that figure from the
rest of the alarrzkiiras. The poetic basis of the figure is probably
to be sought in the genre calledjiiti: short verses, extremely condensed
yet full of minute detail, each one attempting to seize the instantaneous totality ofa certain event, or an individual as wholly characteristic
/
GLOSSARY
325
soft cooings coming from its throat and, desiring its mate, kisses
her"). (4) "Save yow, I herde nevere man so synge / As dide youre
fader in the morwenynge. / Certes, it was of herte, al that he song. /
And for to make his voys the moore strong, / He wolde so peyne
hym that with bothe his yen / He moste wynke, so loude he wolde
cryen, / And stonden on his tiptoon therwithal, / And streeche forth
his nekke long and smal" (Geoffrey Chaucer). (5) See jiiti, guva,
dravya.
gul}a, 'attribute, adjective': (I) a type of svabhtivokti in which the contextual or descriptive attributes of the subject are emphasized. (2)
D 2.13 (II). (3) badhnann afige~u romiificarrz kurvan manasi nirvrtim /
netre ciimilayann Na priyiisparSa/:z pravartate (Dal}<;Iin: "The touch
of the beloved provokes a tingling in the limbs, happy release in
the mind, a closing of the eyes"). (4) "The open hills were airy and
326
GLOSSARY
GWSSARY
svariipa
svariipa, 'nature': (I) probably the same as svabhiiviJkti. (2) AP 344.3-4.
(5) The figure is divided into siiyt!siddhika (nija) and naimittika
(iigantuka). It is the first arthiilayt!kiira of the Agni Puriilla.
327
hetu
hetu, 'cause': (I) a figure in which an effect is described along with its
cause. (2) D 2.235-59, AP 344.29, R 7.82 (83); refuted by B 2.86,
M 186. (3) aviralakamalavikiisa1;z sakaliJlimadas ca kokiliJnanda1;z /
ramyo'yam eti sayt!prati lokiJtkallthiikara1;z kiila1;z (Rudrata; description of the springtime and its several effects: "The delightful season
progresses; men fall in love, nightingales rejoice, drnnken bees
hover about the unbroken spread of lotus blooms"). (4) "Beueath
this slab / John Browu is stowed. / He watched the ads / And not the
road" (Ogdeu Nash). (5) This is the most controversial alayt!kiira.
It would seem to be nothing but literal description, like the figure
svabhiiviJkti, and it has been rejected by Bhamaha and Mammata
for that reason, for they feel that an alayt!kiira must repose upon so~e
figurative usage (Mammala does in effect resuscitate the figure hetu
as kiivya!iiiga, q. v.). But, as usual, such objections miss the point:
those authors who accept hetu are far from thinking it mere literalism,
judging by the examples which they give. All involve some striking,
though not necessarily deformed or unnatural (cf. vyiighiita, asayt!gati,
etc.) instance of the cause-effect relation. Though the cause of John
Brown's death is given literally, it touches upon other issues which
strike a responsive chord in the reader's mind, and he is pleased.
It would be said by Anandavardhana that in this instance, the figure
hetu was nothing but a means to the expression of a dhvani (suggestion) regarding the ubiquity of billboards, etc. In such considerations
may be said to reside the alayt!kiiratii of the figure hetu. DaJ:l4in gives
an extensive inventory of examples based, oddly enough, ou the
philosophical analysis of cause: it is a cause either of knowledge
(jiiiipaka) or of work (kiiraka); it may increase (upabrhalla) or
dimiuish (nivrtti); the cause may be non-existent (abhiiva), simulated
(priipya), immediate (tatsahaja), or mediate (diirakarya). Within the
figure, the cause may be appropriate (yukta) or inappropriate (ayukta)
to its effect. This last amounts to a mixed metaphor.
abhava, 'non-existence': (I) a type of hetu in which a certain cause is
absent, and the effect is the appropriate contrary. (2) D 2.246
(247-52). (3) gata1;z kiimakathiJnmiido galitoyauvanajvara1;z/ k~ato mohaS
GLOSSARY
328
329
GLOSSARY
cyutii tr~Qii krtarrz pUQyiisrame manab (Dal)gin: "Gone is the fascination of the tales of love, slipped away the fever of youth; error is
ended, desire lost; my mind is fixed on the holy retreat"). (4) '''And
yet you incessantly stand on your head- I Do you think, at your
age, it is right?' I 'In my youth', Father William replied to his son, I
'I feared it might injure the brain; I But, now that I'm perfectly
sure I have none, I Why, I do it again and again'" (Lewis Carroll).
(5) Dal)giu, with careful scholarship, illustrates the four kinds of
non-existence which are recognized by the logicians: priigabhiiva
(non-existence preceding becoming),pradhvarrzsiibhiiva (non-existence
following cessation), anyonyiibhiiva (difference), and atyantiibhiiva
(unqualified non-existence). Both.J.he examples given are ofpradha/}'lsiibhiiva.
ayokta, 'inappropriate': (I) a type of het.l(wherein the cause is expressed
figuratively and in such a way that,~~.Yohd the figure, the cause is
improperly related to the effect. (2) D~2.253 (258). (3) riijnii/}'l
hastiiravindiini kumalikurute kutab I deva tvaccaraQadvandvariigabiiliitapab sprsan (Dal)gin; lotuses do not normally close during
the day, but the hand-lotuses of the COl!l't do, in the presence of the
Sun-King; "King, why do the hand-lotuses of your court close when
they have been touched by the red suns of your lac-anointed feet?").
(4) "To Daisies, not to shut so soon: I ... I Stay but till my Julia
close I Her life-begetting eye, I And let the whole world then dispose I
Itself to live or die" (Robert Herrick; the "inappropriateness" is
only in the poet's wish that the "sun" of Julia's eye should cause the
daisies to bloom illto the night). (5) See yukta. In these two cases,
the figurative expression, in the sense of a non-natural representation,
does not attach to the cause itself, but only to the terms which serve
as cause and effect. In this, they are d.ifferent from such figures as
vyiighiita, asarrzgati, etc., where the nature of the relation of cause to
effect is expressed differently. The "inappropriateness" of ayukta
consists in the wrong effect being said of that cause, and it is excused
by both cause and effect serving as objects of comparison to other
terms, onto which the relation of canse-effect is thereby transferred.
These terms, as subjects of comparisou, cau support the nonliteralness or inappropriateness inherent in the basic expression.
upabrhal;ta, 'augmentation': (I) a type of hetu wherein the modality of
the cause is increase or augmentation. (2) D 2.237 (236). (3) ayam
iindolitaprauhacandanadrumapallavab I utpiidayati sarvasya prfti/}'l
malayamiirutab (Dal)ghi; "produces" pleasure: "The southern wind
330
i
i
I;
I
I
i:
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
331
332
GLOSSARY
sahaja, 'congenital': (1) a type of hetu in which the cause and effect
appear simultaneously. (2) D 2.253 (256). (3) avir bhavati nari!U'if[l
vayal.z paryastasaiSavam I sahaiva vividhail.z pUf[lsam aiigajonmadavibhramail.z (DaJ:l4in: "Maidenhood appears in girls, their childhood
passed, and with it, in yonng men, the several passionate confusions
of love"). (4) "All iu green went my love riding Ion a great horse of
gold I into the silver dawn. I four lean hounds crouched low and
smiling I my heart fell dead before" (e. e. cmnmings). (5) Sahaja
forms the middle term in the triad diirakarya ... karyanantaraja.
In all three, the cause and the effect are vyadhikaraJ;!a, different as to
suhstratum. The cause operates figuratively or through mental
processes; hence DaJ:l4in has iJlcluded the three terms in jiiapaka
hetu. They do not necessarily imply deformations of the relation of
cause-effect, although other writers would say so (cf. notably the
figure asaf[lgati).
'. .
APPENDIX
glances".
anujna (71): an affected desire for a defect, setting off a quality (a virodha
in which the contraries are specified as guva and dO$a; the example
is also an iiSi$); as: "may our sufferings be prolonged, that we may
praise Hari the more fervently".
anupalabdhi (115): a poetic application of the mimaf[lsaka pramava
'abhava' (cf. pratyak$a (108)); as: "your delicate waist, clearly
unable to support the weight of your full breasts, is deemed not
to exist by all observers".
arthapatti (59, 114): the mimaf[lsakapramava 'afortiori' (cf. pratyak$a
(l08, the only one generally considered a figure before Appayya,
and undonbtedly the analogical source for the others; as: "the moon
himself has been conquered by your face; what hope is there for the
lotuses?"
alpa (42): the support exceeds the supported in minuteness (inversion of
adhika); as: "the jeweled finger ring on your hand seems more like a
rosary".
avajna (70): the description of an absent quality or defect by means of
334
APPENDIX
h
i
335
APPENDIX
.~
,j
336
J:i
:1
II
tl
i
iIf,
APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
339
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
338
Philologisch~Historische
Klasse. 1908.
Kumarila Bhatta.
Mimaf/1sas[okavartika.
(Benares, 1898-1899).
>J/
Kuntaka. Vakroktijivita; A Treatise on Sanskrit P()etics~'ed. S. K. De. 3rd ed. revised
(Calcutta, 1961).
Magha. SiSupiilavadha. 12th ed. (Bombay, 1957). (Original edition by Durgiiprasad,
1890.)
Mammata-. Kiivyaprakiisa; with the Commentary,o! HariSaiikaraSarman, ed. Dhtu;l~
cjhiraja Sastri. (= Kosi Sanskrit Series, 49.) (= Benares. vikrama saf/1vat 2008
[1951]).
Nobel, Johannes. Bei/rage zur iilteren Geschichte des AlalllkiiraSiistra. (Inaugural-
INDEX
INDEX
AVISE$A, 123
avyakt3.Ipsa sarpsf$ti, 309
avyapeta yarnaka, 226
as1iWl rOpaka, 244
ASAMGATI, 123
asat nidarsana, 202
asamasta rfipaka, 245
asamasa riipaka, 245
ASAlyIBHAVA, 123
asarpbhava upama, 149
asarpbhiivita upama, 149
Entries in capitals are major figure~; the others are subfigures. Figures
followed by * appear only in the Appendix.
ak$ara yamaka, 225
aiig.ngi SaQlSf$ti, 308
acintyanirnitta vise$6kti, 273
ATADGWA,97
ATISAYA,97
atisaya upama, 147
ATISAYOKTI,97
ATYUKTI',333
adbhuta upama, 148
adhyavasana atisay6kti, 98
adhyaropa aprastutapra.sRIPSa, 112
ADHlKA (I), 102
ADHIKA (TI), 102
ananyatva atisay6kti, 99
ananvaya upama, 148
aniyama upama, 148
aniScaya sarpdeha, 313
anuktanimitta vise$okti, 273
ANUGWA',333
anugrahyanugrahaka sarpsf$ti, 309
ANUJ1'<A',333
ANUPALABDHI', 333
ANUPRASA, 102
ANUMANA, 108
anulomaviloma citra, 178
anla dipaka, 194
anta yamaka, 225
antadika yarnaka, 225
ANY6KTI, 108
ANYONYA,109
anyonya upama, 148
APAHNUTI (I), 109
APAHNUTI (TI), 109
APAHNUTI (TII), 110
apiitva~atpasokti, 318
aprastiivabhaj tulyayogita, 192
APRASTUTAPRASAMSA (I), 111
Al'RASTUTAPRASAlyISA (TI), 116
APRASTUTAPRASAMSA (III), 116
apriikaraJ;lika tulyayogita, 192
abhava hetu, 327
abhinnakriya sl~a, 295
abhinnapada sle$a, 295
ABHIVYAKTI, 117
abhi1ta upama, 149
ambuja citra, 178
aynkla rfipaka, 243
aynkta hetn, 328
ayuktakiiri arthantaranyasa, 118
ARTHA,117
artha citra, 178
artha vyatireka, 277
artha slela, 295
ARTHANTARANYAsA, 118
ARTHAPATTI*, 333
artMvrtti av;tti, 128
ardhaparivrtti yamaka, 226
ardhabhrama citra, 178
ALPA*,333
AVAJ1'<A*, 333
AVAYAVA,122
avayava (l) rnpaka, 244
avayava (II) rOpaka, 244
avayavi riipaka. 244
AVASARA,122
avirnddhakriyii sl"'la, 296
avirodhin sle$a, 297
avivak$ita d!'$tdnta, 200
341
342
karyakaraI;lapaurvaparyaviparyaya
atisay6kti, 100
KAVYAD~$TANTA, 174
KAVYALIl'lGA,174
KAVYAHETU,175
kirp.citsadrsi upamii, 155
kamala anupnlsa, 103
KRAMA,175
kriyii dipaka, 196
kriya virodha, 266
kriyii vise~okti, 271
kriyii sIeja, 297
kriyii svabhiivokti, 325
kriyiigfio;lha citra, 179
kriqii citra, 179
kba4ga citra, 180
CRAYA,190
cheka anuprasa, 103
CHEKANUPRASA, 190
JATI,190
jiiti dlpaka, 197
jiiti virodha, 267
jati vise;:okti, 271
INDEX
INDEX
da64acitra, 183
datla citt\(; 183
DIPAKA,193
DU$KARA, 199
dUjkara citra, 183
dukara yamaka, 229
diirakarya hetu, 330
D~~TANTA, 199
drlliiota vyatireka, 279
dyotakalupta upama. 157
dravya dipaka, 197
dravya virodha, 267
dravya visej6kti, 272
dravya svabhavokti. 326
dhanu citra, 184
dharma upamii, 157
dhannadyotakalupta upama, 157
dbarmalupta, 158
dhann6pamanalupta, 158
nanatva atisay6kti, 100
naman sIe$a, 298
niimilotarita prabelikii, 212
NIDARSANA (I), 201
NIDARSANA (II), 202
nindii (I) upamii, 158
nindii (II) upamii, 158
ninda tulyayogitii, 192
nibbrta prabelikii, 212
nimitta aprastutaprasarpsa.. 113
nimittadr$ti vise$okti. 273
nimittadr$ti vyatireka, 280
nirnitt&dr$ti vise{lokti, 274
nimittadr~ti
vyatireka, 280
203
parivrtti yamaka, 229
PARISA1',1KHYA,205
parihiirikii prabelikii, 212
paru$a anuprasa, 104
parn", prabelikii, 213
PARYAYA (I), 205
PARYAYA (11), 205
PARYAYOKTA,205
padamadhya yamaka, 230
padayor ... yamaka, 230
padasamudgaka yamaka, 230
piidildi (I) yamaka, 231
piidildi (II) yamaka, 231
padanuprasa anuprasa, 104
piidiiota (I) yamaka, 231
piidilota (II) yamaka, 231
piidilbhyiisa yamaka, 231
piidaikadeaja yamaka, 231
PIHlTA,206
puccba yamaka, 232
PUNARUKTABHAsA, 207
piin;la upamii, 159
PORVA (I), 207
PORVA (I1), 208
PORVAROPA*,335
prakalpita prabelikii, 213
343
IiIlillli
344
madhya yamaka, 233
madhyanta yamaka, 233
mahiiyamaka (I) yamaka, 233
maMyamaka (Il) yamaka, 233
matracyuta citra, 186
millii (I) upamil, 161
millil (II) upamil, 161
malii dipaka, 198
nidarsana, 203
m~ila
INDEX
INDEX
vi~ aprastutaprasarpsa, 113
vise{ja1).a riipaka, 253
viSe{lastha arthantaranyasa, 121
visvavyiipin arthfintaranyasa, 121
VISESOKTI (1), 270
VISESOKTI (II), 272
VISESOKTI (III), 274
VISAMA (1), 275
VISAMA (II), 275
VISAMA (ill), 275
VISAMA (IV), 275
vi~ama
rupaka, 253
345
346
INDEX